The Grimm Knight
by FanFic Hunter Anonymous
Summary: As the world of Remnant enjoys its time of peace through efforts that barely tame the Grimm forces, one aspiring Hunter trains to use the enemy as his strength. However, who will stand beside him while he struggles to control his descent into the maddening darkness? Jaune is a knight of sacrifice who protects the Red Flower, White Snow, Black Shadow, and Yellow Fire of legend.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **The RWBY universe is owned by Rooster Teeth Productions. I do not claim ownership, or do this for any monetary gain.

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**RWBY**

**The Grimm Knight**

Prologue

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**_Late evening in Emerald Forest..._**

"Ruby, watch out!" Jaune tackled the silver-eyed girl out of harm's way before spear-like claws pierced the spot she previously stood. Still on the ground with the blonde-haired youth protectively covering her, Ruby looked passed his shoulder with a stunned expression.

"J-Jaune, Crescent Rose…it broke," she muttered, still shocked at the unexpected destruction of her custom weapon. A few feet away from them, she could see the multiple fragments of metal that made up what she believed to be an indestructible piece of metallic chaos.

Jaune would have responded, but was currently too distracted by their very much alive enemy, a Grimm creature known as Mephysto. It was an aerial Grimm with oval-shaped crimson eyes and a white-plated scorpion-like body covered by a thick black mist. Hidden underneath that same cape of darkness was a skeletal hand whose spear-like fingers had the ability to extend well over eight feet within a second.

He'd already been grazed by one of those fingers during his descent with Ruby. And even with his juggernaut amount of Aura that was capable of deflecting Yang's most powerful blows, the Mephysto tore through it with a mere scratch. That definitely wasn't good.

Then there was the fact that Ruby's weapon, a well-made construct of extremely durable material, fell apart when she blocked one of the creature's stabbing motions.

"Damn it!" Jaune grit his teeth as he quickly picked the small scythe-wielder up bridal style and dodged away from the hovering Grimm's next attack. The extended digits swiped through the air with frightening speed and made unexpected impact with a tree that was behind them, slicing cleanly through it and producing a huge dust cloud when it hit the ground.

When the dust cleared, the two young humans were gone.

OOO

**_Shortly after..._**

"Why were you so deep in the Emerald Forest?!" Jaune asked angrily as the two of them ran through the foliage to escape the phantom Grimm giving chase. He could have been relaxing at home on this beautiful night with a nice hero biography, being periodically teased by Yang for his lack of combat skill, and having to clean up Ruby's messes from her usual evening practice. But instead, he was running from a Grimm that wanted to turn him into a shish kabob.

"I wanted to test out Crescent Rose against a strong enemy. I mean, come on! The Grimm they use at school are so boring and predictable," Ruby responded with a note of frustration and cutely pouted at him.

Despite being slightly out of breath and running, Jaune sighed in exasperation. He then smirked at Ruby whose expression made him feel like he was kicking a puppy. A puppy that was capable of kicking his ass. Luckily, he knew her buttons.

"When we get back home, no milk for you," he teased with a clever grin.

"You can't do that! How else am I going to beat Yang in the growth department," Ruby shouted in aghast.

Jaune lifted an amused eyebrow at that. She was only ten, what part of Yang's growth was she worried about competitively? Er, then again, was milk Yang's secret to being taller than him? Maybe he should start drinking more of it, too…

"Jaune, duck!"

The blonde-haired boy looked up in time to see the Mephysto appear in front of him with a harsh slice. He executed a swift front roll under the creature and ran to Ruby's side. He glanced at her and saw that same helpless, fearful expression from before replace the cheery one he had grown to love. His dark-blue eyes returned to the Grimm spawn that was now hovering a few feet across from them, tauntingly, as if to say, "You can't win. Accept defeat."

It was a line he was very used to hearing in his life. But he wouldn't let it apply to the girl he viewed fondly as his little sister.

"I'll distract him. Run home and get help," Jaune ordered while unsheathing his long sword from its unique sheath.

Ruby looked at him with disbelieving eyes. "I'm not going to leave you behind, no matter what," she told him defiantly.

The Mephysto was still floating there, patiently awaiting their next action.

Jaune abruptly wrapped the brave girl in his warm embrace. "I may not be good at fighting, but I'm an expert when it comes to buying time. Just believe in me," he whispered into her ear before separating himself and giving her his most reassuring smile. "I know I'm not the most reliable brother, or even your real one by blood, but just this once, please, treat me like I am."

Ruby's silvery eyes misted with tears that gently started to fall. "I-I'll come back fast with Yang, I promise!"

Jaune shook his head at her, "I wouldn't expect any le-"

_SHINK!_

A sound like that of a knife piercing fresh meat penetrated the surrounding.

"JAUNE!"

Jaune's gaze went from Ruby's horrified face down to where five crimson, skeletal fingers were protruding from his chest and abdomen, even going through the sturdy armor he wore. He looked back up in desperation.

"R-Ruby, run!"

The spear-like extensions retracted from his body and he fell to the ground onto his knees, sword hitting the ground with an audible thud and blood from his wounds already pooling around him. The Mephysto passed by silently, stalking towards its next prey that had yet to move due to shock. He tried smiling at his sibling to fake being all right, since he couldn't seem to form any words verbally. It was all he could think of doing to get her to react and start moving.

At that moment, he remembered a time when their mother had said that his courage and honest smiles were his greatest assets because they were contagious. She said that to him when he came home after a particularly huge failing in Signal Academy's quarterly ranking test. What he wouldn't give to exchange his so-called strengths for something like Ruby's prodigal aptitude with weapons or Yang's awe inspiring amount of physical prowess.

His hazy vision became more focused as he tried to maintain consciousness. He could see Ruby stepping back timidly from the Grimm, reaching for her non-existent weapon, Crescent Rose.

"_I've got to do something, damnit! Anything!" _

He tried grasping at what little Aura he had left to temporarily heal his physical wounds and help him ignore the pain from being stabbed in several places. It wasn't working.

The Mephysto raised its bony hand, three fingers rising to point accurately at Ruby's head.

"_Even if I can't save myself, the least I can do is save her before I die! That's all I want!" _

The darkness started creeping into his vision, making it harder for him to make out the petite form of his dear sister. His sister who just…!

"I won't let you die alone, Jaune. This isn't something you get to decide for yourself…" Ruby whispered with her eyes closed and a happy grin, hugging his frail body to hers, ignoring the dark red blood seeping into her own black and crimson clothing.

"_She used her semblance to get to me, to comfort me in my last moments." _Jaune's eyes narrowed as he saw the Grimm creature turn away from the rose petals resulting from Ruby's movement. It settled its sinister gaze on them.

Even as the blonde-haired youth's eyes closed with finality, a resounding wish from within him vibrated into reality as a result of his strength of will.

"_I'll save her!"_

Ruby gasped as she was violently thrown into the air and landed in a tree nearby. She quickly recovered and jumped back to the ground, looking around in confusion. There was no sign of Jaune, the Mephysto, or the source of knock-back.

"Jaune! Where are you? Say something," she shouted with urgency.

"Skkkrreehhhhh!"

An abnormally guttural howl shook the trees around her. A brilliant flash of white light blinded the young girl's vision temporarily as something collided with the tree she just jumped off, sending splinters in the air. Blinded and with her Aura exhausted, when a thick branch hit her solidly in the back of the head she was effectively knocked unconscious.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! DIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

"_This power…"_

The Mephysto dodged left and right trying to avoid the flurry of stabs, strikes, and slashes aimed at its body. The wild combination of attacks ripped away at the black mist that hid the creature's features and allowed it to levitate.

"…_is intoxicating!"_

The dark haze of protection was shredded away from its opponent's last attack, leaving it to frantically fall in its true form; a scorpion-like insectoid whose stinger was shaped similarly to a skeletal hand.

It pathetically tried crawling away, only to be severed in the midsection by an unruly helmet-splitting cut of a double-edged sword.

A partially armored hand, whose skin was darker than the black associated with the Grimm spawn, grasped the Mephysto's quivering head. The owner of the appendage leered maniacally back at the creature's glowing red eyes.

_"You're finished!"_

The armored fist closed with a wet popping sound. The rest of the phantom Grimm's body parts exploded in a cloud of Dust, dissipating into the evening wind.

"Back the fuck off from my little sister!"

A streak of fire exploded onto the scene and impacted with the shadowed, twisted figure that recently dispatched the Mephysto. It shook off the damage and walked into the moonlight to welcome its newest opponent, a girl with a raging fire in her eyes and vibrant gold hair. She looked familiar…

"What are you?" the girl wondered aloud as she finished inspecting Ruby and laid her onto a patch of soft grass.

That's right, what was he, or who was he? How could he forget that? He was…

Consciousness came back to Jaune as he attempted to make sense of what he was seeing. Last he remembered, Ruby was hugging him tightly while he bled out and, wait, what was Yang doing here?

"Why do you look so pissed? Is Ruby all right, and how did you save me?" Jaune noted that his own voice felt wrong. Sounded wrong; distorted, raspy, and grating in delivery.

Yang's eyes narrowed dangerously as she observed the very odd Grimm before her. She started moving into her battle stance in preparation.

"Y'know, I've studied a lot about the different kind of Grimm out there, and I've never heard of one that could talk before," the buxom blonde stated. "Now, I'll give you ten seconds to explain how you know my little sister's name and why she's passed out, then, if you're cooperative, I'll give you an extra five to tell me where my cute little brother is as well." The blonde's gauntlet weapons, Ember Celica, chambered its shells loudly. "If you don't participate, well, all bets are off."

"This isn't funny, drop the-," Jaune's words caught in his mouth when by happenstance he caught his own reflection from the blade of his sword.

It clattered to the ground.

Yang raised a fine eyebrow at the speech-capable Grimm who took a knee sloppily after dropping its long sword. She was actually expecting a challenge, not a quick surrender. Hell, the majority of its body was composed of the bony plating characteristic of the Grimm species, to the point where it looked like an exact replica of a gothic themed knight's set of armor. The patches underneath the plating were made up of the Grimm's black flesh. It looked like it could put up a damn good fight.

However, it was interesting that this one had blue detailing, and an equally eerie ghostly-blue set of slanted eyes visible through its bone-plate helmet. She thought all Grimm had red when it came to those snippets. Then there was its choice of equipment…

"Hey, why do you have Corcea Mors? Answer me, damnit!" Yang demanded furiously. Her eyes became even more fevered, and her hair seemingly in flames. "You better have not touched Jaune, or I'll kill you ten times over!"

Her threat met complete silence for longer than she thought necessary. She spit at the dirt and pulled her right arm back. If this stupid set of armor wouldn't respond to her words; maybe it would to her fists.

Jaune didn't know what to do. He wasn't even sure what he was now. Tonight's events were too much for him. And the feeling of uncontrollable rage gnawing at the edge of his sanity wasn't helping. There was only one possible course of action, at least until he figured out what the hell was going on with his body and how to control it. Looking past the fuming form of his elder sister, he inwardly smiled at the serene face of Ruby.

"_I can't stay here."_

Yang burst forward with amazing speed and unloaded all her ammunition into the right-handed straight punch she threw at the armored Grimm's exposed neck area.

"Hah!"

However, using the white shield of Jaune's weapon set, it blocked her punch at the last second with impressive reaction time. The shield was now emitting a very soft glow of golden-white energy.

"Huh? No way, Grimm can't use Aur-aaahhhhh!"

Her body sailed over the canopy of tall trees as the power she used to hit the soulless creature somehow absorbed into the shield and reversed the damage back at her. Worried for her unconscious little sister, and more than a little ticked off, she angled her descent towards the spot she got launched from to continue the encounter.

"_Sorry, Yang." _If this were under better circumstances, Jaune would have rejoiced at finally being able to land a hit on his brawler of a sister.

The boy turned Grimm hurriedly picked up his shining long sword, gave one last glance back at Ruby, and tore off into the deeper foliage that would lead out of the confines of Emerald Forest.

**To Be Continued…**

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**Author's Note: **Yo, fellow fanfic readers! Above is my attempt at spreading an idea or, if the response is good, starting up a RWBY fanfiction myself. Herein you will have found your favorite-to-hate tropes, unreasonable grammar, and sloppy development (quite possibly because there aren't enough cares in my shits to give).

Some details concerning this story's Jaune that I wanted to note, if this story does continue.

Jaune…

- is an adopted member of Ruby & Yang's family.

- and Yang are three years older than Ruby. In this prologue, Ruby is ten, making Jaune and Yang thirteen years old. Why? I just felt like it.

- still pales in comparison to his sisters combat-wise, but has a less self-pitying attitude and more motivated to protect others despite his lack of comparable prowess.

- has a Grimm form as one of his semblance abilities that changes his appearance to that of a Gothic-plated knight, similar in design to the armored enemy Weiss faces in her personal trailer. However, Jaune's form is more fearsome in looks and includes dark-blue markings instead of the characteristic red details of the Grimm.

I don't want to stick too much with canon until they hit school, mostly because, well, there isn't a lot of mechanics and extensive material to work with. There's a bunch more interesting fan speculation than actual fact. But that's why we like this whole fanfiction shtick, right? Make up our own content at will. Such a novel idea!

PS - If there isn't much of a response, I'll just detail what my thoughts were, in hopes that someone else can take the torch and adapt it in a much better flow and style. Since, after all, I'm not a writer. I'm a fanfic reader at heart.


	2. The Lover, The Fool, and The Emperor

******Disclaimer: **The RWBY universe is owned by Rooster Teeth Productions. I do not claim ownership, or do this for any monetary gain.

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**RWBY**

**The Grimm Knight**

The Lover, The Fool, and The Emperor

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_**Early evening, two hours before Jaune's disappearance…**_

"I'm home!" Yang shouted as she kicked her boots off in the entryway.

"In here, Yang! Dinner's almost ready!" a young male voice replied.

The lilac-eyed girl smiled toothily and walked to the kitchen area. What she saw made her burst out laughing.

"Pwahaha! You're seriously wearing that thing?"

Jaune faced her while balancing an iron wok, clearly embarrassed about donning a frilly apron with the phrase "Knights belong in the kitchen" stitched in. "Sh-shut up! Ruby got it for my birthday last week, it's only right I start wearing it unless I want to hurt her feelings," he argued back.

"I-hah-I," Yang was having trouble stopping her giggles. "I can't believe she thought I was serious."

Jaune looked at his older sister accusingly. "I knew you were somehow involved with this," he said while he emptied the contents of the wok onto a clean plate with silverware.

"You made my favorite!" Yang exclaimed happily as she licked her lips in anticipation and took a seat at their dining table. The bell peppers and beef stir-fry smelled better than she remembered. Jaune must have done something special to it, she surmised.

The blonde-haired boy sat down, put the plate in front of her, and watched amusingly as she immediately dug in without form or grace. When her hand flew up he put a napkin in it almost as quick, like doing so was habitual. A few seconds later, she finished.

"Ah, you outdid yourself, little bro," Yang praised him, patting her stomach. "So, where is everyone this time?" she asked, noting the house's silence.

Jaune scratched his chin. "Hm…your parents are out on another Hunter contract near Menagerie. They said they'd be gone for about three days. Ruby's at Uncle Qrow's working on modifying her Crescent Rose."

The blonde brawler nodded in acknowledgement and then looked at him curiously. "Weren't you supposed to be at the Raven's Hall bookstore tonight? I remember you being all excited at the chance to meet your favorite hero at her book signing."

The young knight shrugged nonchalantly and smiled. "There'll always be a next time. I wanted to be home to welcome you back and make sure you didn't starve to death."

Yang blushed at his words. "Tch! You didn't have to do that. I only food poison myself half the time I cook."

The two blondes shared a laugh as a comfortable, contemplative silence fell over them.

"Hey, y'know how they say it's always good to keep constants in your life?" Yang asked.

Jaune looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean, like friends? Oh, don't tell me, did one of your friends attack you again because of the way her boyfriend looked at you?"

"Well that did hap-I mean no, you dunce!" she slammed the table, causing the teenage boy to jump out of his seat in alarm.

"My mistake, sorry," Jaune apologized and backed up from Yang who was now walking threateningly towards him. "Wh-what's wrong? Yang?" His back hit a wall.

"What I mean, Jaune, is that every time I need someone, you're always there, not far away." The golden-haired girl said, sporting a sincere grin. "You try to do even the smallest things for me without thinking about yourself."

Jaune swallowed audibly, he had no idea where she was going with this. "W-well, of course. I'm your brother, after all."

Yang closed the distance between them. Her face was extremely close to his, to the point where he could smell the alluring fragrance of her shampoo.

"Wrong, Jaune. I'm a girl, and you're a boy. We're not related, and we love each other, right?" She settled her hands on his defined chest and moved her head slightly right, brushing a few strands of her wild golden locks near his nose. "Remember how you always complimented me about my hair when we were kids? You're the reason I've kept it like this."

They were pretty much nose-to-nose now.

"C-come on Yang, cut it out. Be serious here…"

"Oh, I a-"

"BANZAI!" Ruby burst into the room loudly with her arms thrown high into the air. She paused in her excitement and looked at the two blondes in confusion. "Uh…what are you two doing?"

Jaune squeezed out from underneath an annoyed Yang and laughed nervously. "We, I mean," his hands were making random motions, which then stopped when they made contact with his apron. "She was helping me tie the back of the apron you got me, that's all!"

Yang sent the innocently perplexed Ruby a brief glare that was quickly replaced with a mischievous smile. "I don't think I quite finished tying it, one sec." She walked over to the bewildered young knight and pressed her body to his, causing him to blush furiously. Her hands searched for a bit, and when she found the strings to tie, she tugged them together tightly, eliciting a startled yelp from the poor boy.

"There you go," she chirped.

"That's an interesting way to do it. I think I've seen Mom do that to Dad before!" Ruby naively exclaimed, causing the blonde boy to cough and Yang to giggle. "Oh, wow! You look so cool, Jaune. You should wear it to school!"

"Sorry, Ruby. But you know the dress code at Signal." Jaune rubbed the back of his head and smiled good-naturedly.

"Fridays are casual dress; you can wear ANYTHING you want then," Yang helpfully supplemented, smiling impishly.

"Awesome, I can't wait to walk with you to school while you're wearing it," Ruby cheerfully stated as she ran over and hugged his mid-section affectionately.

"_What did I do to deserve this," _Jaune asked himself begrudgingly, patting the head of the petite dark-haired girl attached to him.

OOO

_**Two years later…**_

_**Late night at the Screaming Valkyrie bar in Vale…**_

"Now, look here, blondie. We're more than willing to part with information, but we do expect some form of payment, which…" lecherous eyes passed over his potential client's form. "How about you show us what's under-!"

The gaudy suited man doubled over from unbelievable pain with a muted scream. He looked up fearfully, seeing a devilish smirk plastered on the girl's face.

"Let me tell you two pieces of useful information. One: Never try to proposition a beautiful woman like me so sleazily and expect no punishment. Two: My payment comes in the form of not placing every single one of you in a body bag, and Three," she knelt down to the pained man's level.

"I-I thought you said two?" he rasped out.

"AND three: You're definitely not my type," she sweetly finished her response, which was accompanied by a loud click from her right hand's gauntlet that was hovering dangerously low.

"No, no, no!"

He quickly flew through the club's front doors into a pile of similarly suited men, the majority of them being knocked out or faintly crying in agony.

Yang smirked at her handiwork proudly. "It's safe to say that guy won't be making babies without reconstructive surgery." She turned around to address her remaining audience, one portly man who was sweating bullets. He probably didn't enjoy the show of destruction she just performed in his establishment. "Now, how about that information, mister?"

"You crazy bitch, you didn't even tell us what you wanted! You just started beating the living hell out of my guys as soon as you arrived!" he shouted at her bitterly. His purple suit was drenched with perspiration, and there was visible wetness in his lower region.

The golden-haired teenager tilted her head innocently and scratched the back of it embarrassedly. "Haha, I did, didn't I? Well, they shouldn't have looked at me the wrong way and let me in. Anyways," she stalked up to her target's quivering form and threw a scroll his way. "I need information, and you specialize in brokering it, so spill."

He sloppily caught the device in his slippery grip. The screen had two images; a blonde-haired boy sleeping haphazardly in ridiculous full-body pajamas and the next one on the right had the violent girl before him giving the peace sign while hugging the same guy close to her chest.

"Uh…what is this?"

Yang's face brightened, "Ah, swipe the screen to the left, would ya?" She forgot to change the slide she was looking at last night in her hotel.

The greasy-haired man did as told and was granted several photos that were slightly out of focus. In them, he saw what looked to be a young man in fairly worn clothes fighting off fierce looking Grimm with a shining sword and white shield. It was hard to see his face due to the black hood drawn over it, but it was clearly evident that the kid had an athletic build and significant strength, given the soulless creatures being fought didn't look like pushovers.

The last few pictures showed a more imposing figure wearing the same face obscuring dark hood and holding similar weapons. Its body was covered in gothic plate armor seemingly made of Grimm bone. It was also worth noting that the armaments being held didn't have the same luster shine as the weapons in the previous images, instead they glowed a sinister midnight black.

He definitely knew who this was.

"You're looking for the Grimm Knight?" the information broker asked hesitantly.

Yang's smile widened considerably. After a few weeks of dead ends, this sounded like a good start since many others she recently "contacted" didn't even have a clue who was in the picture.

"Yes, yes! You know about him?"

The suited man fidgeted and handed the scroll back to the excited girl. "Anyone who's in the Hunter business does, especially right now since someone very high up is looking for him. Is he your boyfriend or something?"

Yang's face lit up a healthy shade of red, lilac eyes and golden hair showing signs of igniting. "Me, questions. You, answers," she firmly stated with a feral expression. "Now, elaborate, where is he?"

The scared man stepped back. "L-look, all I know is that the kid wanders around Vytal, outside Kingdom protected territory. Rumor is that he purposely tries to find powerful Grimm to kill like some blood-lusting fiend." He licked his dry lips nervously. "People say the armor he sometimes wears is made of bone from the Grimm that killed someone he loved, others suggest he is a suicidal psychopath exiled from the Kingdoms for his homicidal behavior."

Yang could feel her blood boiling in anger. It wasn't like she was mad at Jaune for becoming an overly violent Grimm tearing machine. Or that the only way she had of finding out he was alive was by scrounging for scraps at the bottom of the informational world's barrel. No, the problem was that he hadn't come back or contacted her since his disappearance, and she still couldn't understand why.

She'd already made the connection between him and the armored Grimm not too soon after she started gathering stories from the rumor mill. And she knew that whatever that armor was, it royally pissed her off, since it had put a massive wedge in the way of what she wanted. NOTHING separated her from what she wanted.

The golden-haired girl shook the heated thoughts from her head to continue her interrogation. "You mentioned someone was looking for him. Who is it?"

"We-well, you see…" The information broker gulped apprehensively. The person he was about to mention was well feared, a literal boogeyman in the underworld scene. "I'm sorry, but I don't wanna get wiped from existence. This guy, he's got people everywhere. If I said anything, I might as well get my gravestone ready for the morning."

_CRASH!_

His eyes bugged out as he looked at the girl's smoking fist that cratered the metal wall close to his head.

"At least he'll give you time to prepare. As for me, I don't mind giving your wall here an immediate new paint job. So, you were saying?"

"Ah, screw it! The head of Schnee Dust Company is looking hard for him! I-I swear, that's everything I know!"

Yang sighed and pulled her fist back. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it? One last question, though."

"Y-yes?"

"Do you have good health insurance?"

"Huh?"

Before the man could respond Yang delivered five swift shotgun blows to the man's belly followed by a finisher to his crotch. She threw him out the same door where all his lackeys were laying.

"That's for looking at my chest for too long, prick. Seriously, I'm only fifteen and I have to deal with creeps like this?" She dusted her hands and outfit off, taking the rear exit to leave the deadly silent, unoccupied club. There was a lot on her mind right now.

Two years ago, when she had desperately tried to locate her missing siblings in the depths of Emerald Forest, she made a grave mistake. If only she had relied on patience and reason rather than wild emotion, she wouldn't have so stupidly assaulted her adoptive brother who was struggling to control some strange power.

She could still recall his distorted voice that had hints of confusion, worry, and familiarity. Because of her rash behavior, she was probably the initiator of his decision to run away. She spent many nights wondering how things could have been different if she had listened first and acted later, but what-ifs led nowhere. Action did.

"Tch!" The golden-haired girl mounted her yellow motorcycle and revved the engine several times. "Why the hell are you still out there, Jaune?" With one final push, Bumblebee soared into the night streets with her long hair whipping in the wind like wild fire.

Things changed after that night. Ruby became obsessed with perfecting Crescent Rose in structure and execution of technique, studying under their Uncle Qrow. Yang knew that the poor girl blamed herself for Jaune's disappearance most of all. Then there was the strained relationship that developed between them and their parents…

"Heartless bastards," she muttered through clenched teeth. They put in two days' worth of effort to find Jaune, only to suddenly quit after receiving a letter in the mail. They never said what the contents were, but whatever it was couldn't justify letting their son wander alone out there in Remnant's volatile world. Any argument she or Ruby had against stopping their search was ultimately shutdown by their strict father.

That's why for the past two years, whenever free time was available, she spent it chasing rumors of a young, selfless blonde-haired knight that had the power to turn into a brutally efficient Grimm mass murderer.

But really, none of that mattered. Whatever he had become, she'd bring him back to where he belonged, even if she had to give him a harsh beating to drag him back.

Glancing at the scroll attached to her motorcycle's dashboard, the golden-haired girl smiled warmly at Jaune's stupidly grinning portrait and the newly acquired information highlighted next to it.

"Looks like I'll be meeting the string-puller of the world's largest Dust producer pretty soon. Hope his security is more entertaining than that stupid club's."

OOO

_**The next day…**_

It was a beautiful clear morning outside Aurum Village, a Faunus settlement near the outskirts of Forever Fall. Red-leaves flew serenely in the quiet wind, birds chirped in a song of benevolence, and blood thirsty Grimm bears were searching for picnics made of people.

"Grrraaahhhhh!"

Jaune sidestepped the Ursa Major's massive swing and sent a whirling horizontal slash at its midsection, barely drawing blood. "No better than a paper cut," he grumbled while dodging another mighty swipe.

"Come on, time to get serious, Jaune." The deep blue-eyed youth retreated back. He collapsed his heater shield into its sheath form and slapped it to his hip. He then flexed his sword-bearing right arm which started generating black Dust around it. It instantly became midnight flesh covered in bone plate.

"Sorry, buddy, but you're causing too much trouble for the Faunus in this area, and my Grimm passenger has been starving for a while now."

The Ursa growled with menacing eyes and charged straight at him.

"Bring it!" He charged forward as well, long sword glowing sinisterly dark and leaving a radiant golden-white streak in his path.

As soon as the two were about to meet in a head on collision, the blonde's body split into several after images. One hacked at the Ursa's knees, two others chopped at its shoulders, and the next three carved at the neck from different angles. He reappeared behind the stock-still Grimm shortly after, in a burst of black Dust.

The Ursa's hulking body promptly fell to the red-leave covered earth in a shower of crimson liquid, its severed head rolled not too far away.

"Ugh, still not used to doing that," Jaune complained while thoroughly massaging his temple with his free hand. He sheathed his bloodied sword and walked over to the Ursa Major's corpse. Kneeling down, he placed his transformed right palm on it and waited.

The Grimm monster's head and body became Dust that a portion of flowed into his right arm's black flesh, the rest compressed into a small marble in thin air. The blonde grabbed and dropped it in his belt pouch with similar spheres of darkness inside. He then plopped onto his back to lazily stare at the brilliant azure sky.

A peaceful quiet accompanied his relaxed position.

"Why is it so nice out on such a miserable day?" he spoke to the empty air.

It was the anniversary of the day he discovered his unique semblance ability. It was a burden and a blessing. On one hand, it motivated him to become stronger to control it and allowed him to save many innocent lives in the process of honing it. On the other, he had to abandon the ones he loved most in order to gain the level of manipulation he now possessed.

To him, that was a big loss. He didn't miss his adoptive parents, even though he held no ill will towards them. He readily understood that they adopted him due to past promises and obligation. What Jaune missed most was Ruby's quirky behavior that always managed to put him in good spirits and Yang's friendly teasing that was followed by her embarrassing displays of affection.

"I wonder what they're doing now?"

The two girls got along perfectly fine. He'd reasoned long ago that they were most likely unaffected by his absence. It wasn't like he brought much to the equation, in his opinion anyway. Ruby was a very friendly and strong-willed girl. She was probably making friends left and right. Yang, well, she always had a way of making everything fun. Most of her leisure time must have been dedicated to dating handsome guys she'd eventually punch into a coma or hanging out with huge groups of friends.

A heavy sigh emanated from his mouth. He was doing that a lot today. Bringing his right fist into the air to grab a red leaf that would have landed on his face, he dropped his partial transformation. He watched as abnormal armor and flesh faded into Dust swept into the comfortable breeze.

His first year of training was pure hell, he reminisced. The benefits of using his Grimm form were many; bolstered speed, strength, defense, and endurance capable of matching much lower and mid-tier Grimm he encountered in his travels. However, he would lose significant regulation over disciplined thought, reducing his capability of carrying out strategic plans or at times forcing him to inflict damage upon himself when there were signs of unreasonably mad fury.

Then there were the headaches, and the horrible nightmares he commonly dealt with.

"The heck?" Jaune's self-reflection would have continued if not for a massive pick up of wind, scattering red-leaves in a twister like spiral. He quickly jumped to his feet and briefly shielded his eyes. It didn't take long for it to calm down.

"Are you Jaune Arc?!" a deep baritone voice addressed him from above.

Jaune looked up and saw an older gentleman hanging onto a slightly ajar door of a luxurious looking Dust helicopter with the logo "Schnee Dust Company" painted on the side. The man had side-parted silver hair, a thin build, and was dressed in a finely made black uniform that looked like something a butler would wear.

"Please do come join me in this fine aerial vehicle, lad! You're a very hard person to find, and my employer at Schnee Manor is quite eager to meet you!" the older man said jovially. He dropped a metal roll-up ladder for the blonde to use.

"_How does this guy know me and how the hell did he find me?" _the young knight thought to himself in suspicion. He'd spent the past two years wandering outside the public eye, training in the vast wilderness and surviving from his short visits to Faunus villages that peppered Vytal's outer Kingdom limits.

Jaune continued to stare at the vehicle warily. Another thing that made him concerned, he didn't like ANY vehicles, especially flying metal death traps. Motion sickness was one of his greatest enemies, right next to his own Grimm madness.

"I'm sorry to be rude, sir, but to put it bluntly, why should I?"

The butler's previous friendly disposition was quickly replaced with narrowed eyes and a snide frown. "Because Jaune, or Grimm Knight as some are calling you, my Master gets what he desires." He put a hand in his suit jacket and withdrew a packet that he then expertly threw towards the youth. He grinned when the blonde's eyes widened at the contents.

Jaune grit his teeth. Inside the manila folder were pictures of Yang at various shady places, many showing her walking away unharmed from flaming destruction that was most likely caused by a combination of her fire semblance and Ember Celica. "_Damn it, Yang! What the hell were you doing?"_

"She's an exceptionally beautiful young lady, but she's getting too close to secrets that are meant to stay as they are, secrets. Sadly, this is all because she keeps searching for her dear little brother who ran away from home, leaving his sisters to wallow in depression."

Jaune definitely didn't like this guy, or the situation. "I'm listening."

"Haha, that's good, lad!" The butler's demeanor turned annoyingly cheerful again. "My gracious master is the current owner and head of Schnee Dust Company. He only requests an audience with you in hopes of forming a wonderful contract that reaps benefits for both parties involved." He gestured to the ladder. "Now, if not for yourself, do this for your inappropriately nosy sister's continued good health."

Fighting back the urge to assume his full Grimm form and unleash its chaotic fury, Jaune grasped the pegged lift and began climbing.

"Ah ha, I knew you were a smart boy! We'll continue introductions and other such formalities inside. Make haste, Master Schnee isn't the most patient of people." The giddy old man retreated into the helicopter.

As Jaune was about to reach the top, he spat out a globule of blood that had formed in his mouth from biting his lip too hard in restraint. "I hope this Master Schnee doesn't mind getting an extra-large import of Dust up his ass when I see him." He grasped the door handle and hopped in.

"I'm sorry, lad, did you say something?"

"Ah, I just said that I can't wait to meet the brilliant man who provides the Dust many of us rely on today," he confidently lied through his teeth.

"Such a respectable young man! I'm sure he'll enjoy trading delightful banter with you!"

"Yeah, I hope so, too…"

Jaune's eyes flashed a dangerous scarlet red.

**To Be Continued…**

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**Author's Note: **People seemed to like it, so I went ahead and wrote the next chapter as soon as I could out of appreciation. In this chapter, you are exposed to the confident, straightforward, and passionately ferocious female that is Yang. Also, a glimpse of Jaune's results from training is given, and then there's a bridge erected to an oncoming conflict.

If you've got questions about characterization, powers, etc., that's good. I don't intend to throw all the details out there with one scene or through a single internal dialogue session. Hopefully, most of them will be answered through character interaction in the future.

PS - Thank you for the kind reviews! I'm glad that the idea I had was enticing enough to offer me a few words. And while it may not seem personal enough, I do sincerely acknowledge everyone's' help in encouraging me to continue this, even those that do not review. While my lexicon is lacking, along with my ability to construct attractive sentence structure, I'll try to keep things entertaining. Cheers!


	3. Bound by Contract

**Disclaimer: **The RWBY universe is owned by Rooster Teeth Productions. I do not claim ownership, or do this for any monetary gain.

* * *

**RWBY**

**The Grimm Knight**

Bound by Contract

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_**Mid-morning at Schnee Manor…**_

Silence permeated throughout the decently sized room lined with mahogany walls and bookcases filled to the brim with ancient looking tomes. The room's two occupants were seated at a round red oak table in the center, studying a chess board with multiple glass figures lain across it.

"…" Jaune's calloused hand grasped the top of a black bishop chess piece and moved it diagonally to take the vulnerable looking white pawn nearby.

The same bishop was promptly overtaken by a white knight piece.

"You aren't terribly good at this, are you, child?" the voice of an older man dryly asked.

"This is only my second time playing. Excuse me, sir, if I didn't practice before coming. I was a bit distracted by looming threats concerning my sister's life," Jaune replied in annoyance. Dark-blue eyes examined the board with scrutiny, determined to get at least one of his opponent's inanimate soldiers. He grinned confidently as he knocked a white rook out with his black queen.

"I'm sorry if Gregory framed my invitation in such a way, I merely meant to offer you proper incentive to talk to me privately. You need not worry about your sibling, as long as your cooperation continues passed this small juncture."

Jaune watched as his queen was unceremoniously switched with its white variant. He glared at the seemingly bored man sitting across from him in a lavishly padded wooden chair. Alexander Schnee, the current head of one of the world's largest Dust distributors, was a serious looking individual with slicked-back silver hair and cold olive-green eyes that had deep wrinkles under them, indicating no lack of chronic stress. His royal white suit was impeccably clean and further complimented his aristocratic air.

"I'm sure you didn't blackmail me to have a rousing game of chess to boost your ego. Let's get to the point already. I'm here because somehow my sister, Yang, is indirectly learning about your dirty laundry in the organized crime industry and you're worried about it," Jaune summarized nonchalantly. "Given your company's shady history with the Kingdoms' politics, I've no doubt you've got the resources to make my family's life a living hell. So, here I am, at your demand. What do you want from me?"

Alexander palmed the captured queen disinterestedly. "You're correct in most of your assumptions, Mr. Arc, except one."

"Which one would that be, Master Schnee?" he asked mockingly.

"That I care about your sister's messy path of investigation. As I said before, she was merely an incentive, a convenient pawn, if you will, in capturing what I truly needed." Alexander picked up a black horse chess piece with his unoccupied hand. "The Grimm Knight."

Jaune casually leaned back in his seat and tapped the pommel of his sheathed long sword. "Are most of your _contractual invitations_ accompanied by a form of coercion?"

The Schnee president grinned in amusement. "Heh, you're pretty bold for someone in your position, child. It's refreshing to see after having to constantly deal with men that cower at even the remote possibility of meeting with me."

"Thanks, I guess," Jaune replied with no small amount of cynicism. He felt like saying more, but knew he was already dealing with a decent amount of deadly fire.

Alexander went back to examining the queen in his hand. "To answer your original question; no, not usually. I only do so when I need a truly binding agreement." He gestured to the chessboard they were playing on. "Now, to explain my circumstances and your importance, I'll use our situation here."

"_Sounds like story time,"_ the blonde swordsman internally mused, reminded of the villain monologues he read in fictional books that he went through on his down time from Grimm slaying. Outwardly, he nodded in acceptance to continue.

Alexander motioned to Jaune's side of the board that held three remaining black chess pieces; a king, knight, and rook. "Imagine that the king there is me, and that its related pieces are my close friends and family." He then waved towards his own side, full of white figures placed in strategic positions. "And these are my enemies, the White Fang."

Jaune's demeanor became serious. The implications of this representation were obvious, but he wanted to make sure. "So, the defeated black ones over there-"

"They are those who have been slain due to their involvement with the Schnee family," Alexander finished the sentence firmly.

The blonde looked at his blackmailer skeptically. The White Fang weren't that murderous. Sure, a little more physical lately, but not to that extent.

"Don't you mean captured, or possibly converted?"

"No!" The silver-haired man slammed the table. He composed himself almost instantly and withdrew his clenched fist. "No, they're dead. I have received enough…evidence from the White Fang to say so. Though, not enough evidence to deliver a proper funeral with an open casket ceremony."

Jaune felt his stomach tie up and an urge to vomit. One of the reasons he took up the ideals of heroism was because he wanted to save lives, not end them. It was also why he chose to pursue becoming a Hunter with his sisters to fight the soulless Grimm. There was no guilt involved with killing the savage dark spawn. In his opinion, having to deal with the darker side of human nature on a regular basis wasn't very appealing. He'd leave that to the Kingdom's law enforcement.

"…I'm sorry to hear that," Jaune said sympathetically with a frown. While he definitely didn't like this conceited jerk, no one deserved having their loved ones killed off in such a way.

"In the past ten years, I've lost fourteen family members, three of my closest friends, and…" The man's aged hand firmly gripped the queen piece in it. "…my wife."

The blonde youth wisely stayed silent.

"Elise did nothing but support the Faunus. She even put forward the majority of laws that now require benefits be provided for their kind's employment! Yet, they still targeted her." Alexander trembled as he set the queen down.

"What does the rook here represent?" Jaune asked, trying to draw the man's vengeful thoughts away from further drama.

"That, Mr. Arc, represents my insufferably disobedient daughter who wishes to become a Huntress. Her name is Weiss, and she's around your age. Unfortunately, she has a harsh personality that is further reinforced by her drive to be better than everyone around her, including me." Alexander relaxed back into his seat and heavily sighed.

"And you love her," the boy remarked.

"More than anything in the world, even if it isn't properly evident with how I show it. I've always been more inclined to use gifts of given opportunity and life lessons rather than through _loitering out_, or whatever it is your cell-declining generation calls it." Alexander clasped his hands together and stared at the blonde knight. "As you can tell from my words, that love isn't exactly reciprocated due to inefficient translation of my methods."

Jaune merely shrugged at the man's roundabout way of saying that he was inept at being a good parent. "Got it. So, you want me to…?" He left the question hanging in the air, growing tired of waiting to hear his role in all this.

"Before my wife passed away in her hospital bed seven years ago, she requested one thing of me; to raise Weiss without involving her in the family business, to let her decide her own course in life." Alexander faintly coughed into his hand, "Which I've partially done, mind you. I took some liberties to make sure she grew up to be a lady of class, as she deserves to be." He then tossed something at the amused blonde, who deftly caught it.

It was the black knight piece.

"Despite Weiss' foolish insistence to become a Huntress, I will fully support her endeavors as best I can. To do so, I will be _employing_ you to train her to be an efficient and capable Grimm slayer, like yourself. You'll also be acting as her bodyguard for potential White Fang attacks throughout your term of service. By the time she reaches Beacon Academy, I trust that she will be significantly prepared to face her trials there, and your contract will be finished."

The Schnee president stood and briskly walked over to a well-polished red oak desk. He opened one of its drawers, withdrawing a substantial amount of papers and two manila folders.

"In exchange, I'll guarantee that your sister will be unharmed and face no punishment or charges for any current or future damage she has or will have incurred unto my associates' operations. Also," Alexander set a crisp folder in front of the wary blonde who was confused at the shift to business talk.

Jaune opened it up and winced at its contents. They were his final grades in Signal Academy, before he had left unannounced to tame his dark powers. He cringed more and more as he leafed through the rest of the material. Finally, he decided to hastily shuffle it all back into its folded prison. When it came to this stuff, the only good thing to come out of the past was history.

"Yes, your performance in school was quite abysmal. It's a wonder how you survived this long and came out as you are," the silver-haired man commented. "That's why, along with your sister's freedom of punishment, I'm offering you the chance to erase your educational past to make way for a more attractive future."

"And where would that future lay?" Jaune asked in suspicion.

Alexander responded by placing the next manila folder down, the words "Beacon Stimulus" were printed on it in bold letters.

"With Yang Xiao Long, at the prestigious Beacon Academy. If you fulfill your end of the bargain, I will essentially forge you a past undetectable of lies and worthy of admission. While your sister doesn't suffer the same level of educational inadequacy you seem to have, I'll do the same for her if she isn't already enrolled when it comes time."

When this meeting started, Jaune already knew that he'd agree to do whatever was asked of him, for Yang's sake. But this newest factor, a chance to wipe his dismal school history and attend the training facility his sisters planned on going, was too much to be ignored. Originally, due to his lack of decent credentials from voluntary absence, he was set on becoming a mercenary of sorts in the Hunter community. With this, though, he would be able to gain valuable training under the veterans acting as professors at Beacon. Plus, maybe he could use his enrollment there to contact his family again and mend the bridges he burned by running away and guiltily avoiding them…

"What is your answer, Jaune Arc?" Alexander's gruff tone interrupted the blonde knight's internal turmoil.

"I'll do it. However, before we go any further, I'd like to know something."

The regal man paused in his process of gathering more official looking papers. "What would that be?"

"Why me? There are a bunch more qualified people out there leagues ahead of me in experience when it comes to killing Grimm. Don't get me wrong, I've definitely fought my fair share these past two years wandering Vytal's lands, but my skill likely pales in comparison to Hunters you could hire to do the same thing you need me for." Jaune sat up straight and placed his representative piece back on the table.

Alexander stood in front of his desk, absentmindedly stroking the bottom of his chin. "You aren't wrong. There are those I could hire for the same capacity of responsibilities, but you fail to acknowledge one thing."

"My employment comes at a less expensive rate?" the young swordsman joked.

"No," the Schnee president responded as he crossed his arms seriously. "It's your strength of character, Jaune, who you are. I didn't track you down out of random curiosity or for budgetary reasons; I've had my sights set on you ever since your name hit the radar. It started when one of the many Faunus villages I employ to mine Dust was saved from being torn apart by a pack of rampaging Beowolves. To be more specific, they were single-handedly saved by an armor clad blonde boy wielding a sword and shield, whose glowing white aura acted like a warm light of hope."

Alexander walked over to the table and picked up Jaune's black knight. "I wanted to reward that boy for saving my employees, but had trouble locating him. Months later, similar stories started filtering in from my other quarries. It wasn't much longer until I gathered enough details to find out who you were and began to document your path of heroism using my agents that were able to tail you, most of the time."

He placed the black knight next to the black rook.

"Jaune Arc, I am a man of great means, knowledge, and life experience. I take interest in those that will be involved with this new world's development. And you are most definitely a person of interest," Alexander said with utter confidence. "I've heard what you've done, seen how you fight, and know what makes you tick. Unfortunately, you sell yourself short, but I assure you, I've done my research. You fit all the criteria for the person I want preparing my daughter for her uncertain future, while also serving as her ally in it. Is that sufficient enough?"

"Y-yes, quite, sir." He wasn't used to being complimented, at all.

Alexander's serious demeanor did a complete 180 after the teen replied. "Brilliant! Then, let's proceed with the forms."

"What the hell?" Jaune exclaimed as a thick stack of papers slammed in front of him on the oaken table.

"The first five pages are documents to be signed with the agreement that you will abide by the contents within. These contents include details regarding the appropriate execution of language, manners, and instruction while in my daughter's presence. Perverse actions towards her are prohibited, but you may admire her elegant beauty from afar without the use of eyes or hands. The paper underneath the five page consent form is an assemblage of information about what Weiss likes, dislikes, and what my recommended actions are for when she is showing signs of undue hostility."

Jaune stared incredulously at Alexander Schnee, a man that he thought to be the source of all Grimm when he first walked in to discuss Yang's destructive tendencies. Now, he was witnessing an overprotective father whose capacity to love was very disconcerting.

"Also, here is my projected schedule for Weiss' activities this month. You will receive this the day before the first of every month in your assigned quarters. Learn it, adapt to it, and treat it like breathing."

The blonde knight sucked his breath in at seeing the color-coded mess of activities. _"How does she even have time to sleep? Wait, why are there days highlighted bright red? Let's see, the legend says they're Danger Zone Days…what does tha-oh, ohhhh!"_

This was going to be a long two years.

OOO

_**Afternoon in the West Wing Training Room…**_

"Father, who is this? He looks…"

"_Remarkably intelligent, roguishly handsome, and dangerously lovable?" _Jaune thought to himself confidently, grinning as he awaited the white-haired beauty's words. Alexander wasn't lying about his daughter's radiance that supposedly came from her deceased mother. The girl had sharp ice-blue eyes, lengthy silken white hair, porcelain skin, an attractively slender figure, and an incredible set of legs. Her outfit did nothing but accentuate these breathtaking features.

"He looks strangely daft, stylishly uncoordinated, and possibly annoying," Weiss finished labeling him.

Jaune physically deflated, each detail felt like a stab to his shriveling ego.

"Yes, he may not look like much, but he is a young man of reliable character and skill. So much so that for the next two years, he will be your fighting instructor and full-time bodyguard," Alexander explained in a stern tone.

"_Here come the fireworks…" _Jaune wisely observed their interaction from the sidelines rather than get involved. He pretended to marvel at the large size of the grey-paneled room equipped with state of the art monitoring technology that was commonly used in professional combat competitions.

"I don't need either of those!" Weiss scowled. "My current private instructors are just fine, and even if those Faunus radicals break through our security, they don't stand a chance against Myrtenaster." She firmly stood her ground and looked insultingly at the blonde swordsman, then back to her father. "I'm not a damsel in distress that needs some little boy playing hero."

"There will be no arguments!" Alexander shouted, causing the girl to take a step back. "First of all, this _little boy_ has slain more Grimm than most average Hunters see in their first years of service." The silver-haired man pressed forward a bit more. "Lastly, I will not be taking any more chances with the White Fang. Their personal attacks on us have increased with frequency and intensity. You are all I have left, Weiss, and I will not have you be joining your dear mother any time soon."

"But-!" Weiss feebly tried to find her voice which faltered from seeing her father's authoritative anger.

"Enough! Now, I will leave you two to get acquainted, as you will be in close company for quite some time. Dinner will be served in three hours. Don't be late." Alexander walked out of the large training room through a sliding metal door that closed loudly upon exit.

Jaune scratched the back of his head nervously as the girl focused her piercing cold gaze on him. It was time to tackle one of his other greatest weaknesses, the female species. "Well, that was kind of awkward. How about I intro-"

"Fight me." Weiss interrupted.

"Uh?" Jaune watched the slender girl walk to the middle of the room's white-tiled floor. She withdrew the Dust chambered rapier at her waist and pointed it at him.

"Are you going to stand there looking more like an idiot than you actually are? I said fight me! If you're as good as my father says, you should be able to handle a defenseless girl like me, right?" Weiss snapped at the blonde. "If you can't, then I'll have sufficient enough proof to get you kicked back to whatever farm village you were raised in." She sent a snarky grin his way.

Jaune relented and walked to a spot opposite his opponent, effectively activating the room's Aura monitoring system which projected their respective bars on the east wall. It wasn't like he didn't expect this kind of reaction.

Weiss stared at her adversary whose goofy expression from before was replaced with eerie stoicism. For some reason, she felt hesitant in attacking him now. Something about the way he was presenting himself felt menacing.

"Well, are you going to take out your weapon or not? It would be dishonorable of me to attack an unarmed opponent."

Jaune simply stood there in a loose stance, deep-blue eyes narrowed and deadly serious. "I won't be needing it, Snow Princess. Just come at me." He gestured at her mockingly, "Unless there's no bite behind that bark of yours."

"Not taking me seriously?" Weiss frowned heavily as she prepared her own stance, right foot leading and left back to properly accelerate. "You're going to regret that!" She flew forward with unrivaled speed and grace, rapier glowing white at the tip, aimed at the blonde's unarmored stomach.

_CLANK!_

The thin sword bounced off the boy harmlessly.

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed in surprise, quickly dodging backwards in case of retaliation. When she looked back at the blonde he was still in the same lazy form with an insufferable smirk.

"You're better off trying to poke holes in paper if that's all the strength you've got in those stabs." Jaune abandoned his slouch and stuck his gloved hands into his jean pockets. "Try harder."

"You'll be Dust when I'm done with you, you arrogant, disrespectful brute!" Weiss remarked angrily as she activated the red capsule in her weapon. She spun like a ballerina and sent several flame-enhanced air slashes towards him.

"Those don't look so weak, better avoid them," Jaune muttered, wanting to keep his messy mop of blonde hair. He dodge rolled the first few and then ducked under the last batch of fire attacks, feeling the extreme heat lick at his skin in the process. He then heard a sharp cracking sound make its way towards him. _"Shit!"_ He was so distracted by the red energy barrage that he didn't see her throw a different kind of attack into the mix. There was no time to move.

"_Got you!" _Weiss smiled triumphantly as she saw the blonde's body become encased in ice.

Jaune's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He looked down at his ice-cube predicament, a result of him being too relaxed. His head and partially free arms were the only parts of him not turned into a popsicle.

"Looks like you won't be seeing a paycheck anytime soon. I don't know your name, nor do I particularly care to learn it. But this was fun while it lasted." The white-haired girl giggled and pulled his cheek. "Just wait here so I can show my father, not like you can do much else," she said with a skip in her step.

"We're not done here."

Weiss stopped her advance towards the sliding door upon hearing the absurd statement. She turned around, left hand on hip and right one holding her rapier steadily.

"You're clearly incapable of moving. What could you possibly do?"

The blonde knight's dark-blue eyes became obscured by his hair as he tilted his head and grinned smugly. He flexed his right hand, instantaneously turning it into its Grimm form. His black flesh made contact with his icy prison.

"This!"

Weiss stumbled back as her vision was temporarily blinded by an explosion of light. When she opened her eyes, she was granted the image of the blonde swordsman standing in a cloud of shimmering blue Dust particles. All of the ice from her attack was gone, and after she blinked once, so was he.

The disoriented girl let out a pained scream as she was punched solidly in the stomach and sent up into the air. In her ascent, she could see the boy staring at her intensely from the spot she previously was. As she started to fall, she made a glyph in mid-air and crouched on it readily, poised to strike. Her abdomen felt extremely sore. If it wasn't for her Aura, there'd probably be a broken bone or two.

"You may have gotten a second wind, but there's no way I'm going to lose!" Using her glyph as a propellant, she gleamed diagonally down, prepared to send a blizzard-like flurry of stabs and slashes. However, just as she sent a vertical swipe at his body, he disappeared in a black cloud of Dust.

_"How many cheap tricks does this guy have?" _she wondered in astonishment as she abandoned her aerial attack and landed safely. That's when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her thin waist.

"When you lose sight of your attacker, always be prepared to retreat and not stick to one spot. The Grimm are fierce and won't hesitate to capitalize on your lack of awareness," Jaune whispered in the shocked girl's ear, right before throwing her clear across the room in a dizzying tumble.

The aspiring huntress yelped as her body impacted the tile. She tried to recover, but the vertigo from her air delivery was a bit too much for her to handle. When she attempted to stand up again, the sharp point of a double-edged sword met her face, only a few centimeters away from making contact. She clumsily fell back to the floor.

"Checkmate…" Jaune said to the white-haired girl whose eyes were firmly shut in frustration. The east wall's projected screen was flashing the results of their short-lived scuffle. His Aura bar had barely a sliver taken off, while hers showed nearly twenty-three percent remaining. If he chose to do anything further, he'd be tearing through her protective barrier. Either she didn't have much of her Aura potential awakened yet, or he really didn't hold back his power in the punch and throw he utilized. He was, after all, used to going all out on the Grimm.

"I-I know, damn it! I lost, I get it," Weiss admitted defeat, feeling utterly humiliated. She hugged her legs close and laid her forehead on her knees, shoulders sagging in dissapointment.

"No, I don't think you do," Jaune sighed tiredly and sat down next to the lamenting girl. He rubbed her back comfortingly.

If there was anything Weiss hated more than loss, it was pity. She would have none of it. "Can't you just leave me-!" Her heated words caught in her throat as she felt his rough hand gently lift her chin up in his direction. Her forehead made contact with his, and their noses were nearly touching. She would have slapped him immediately if embarrassment hadn't won over hostility.

"Wh-wha-what are you doing?!" Her porcelain skin turned cherry red at the close proximity.

"Be quiet for a second…" Jaune's eyes were closed in concentration as he pulled from his pool of Aura. His body started glowing a soft golden-white color, which then enveloped the girl he was making skin contact with.

"Ah!" Weiss gasped as her whole body became pleasantly warmer. The ebbing pain from the bruising she received from being punched and hitting the floor was disappearing with each passing second. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before.

"There, done," Jaune smiled earnestly, separating himself from the unusually silent girl. He swore he heard her whimper when he did so.

Weiss shook her head from the brief period of euphoria and blushed at seeing the blonde boy smiling innocently at her. "What did you do to me?" she asked in a breathy voice, trying to steady her rapidly beating heart.

Jaune raised his eyebrow inquisitively. The regal girl actually looked worse after what he did, which wasn't his intention. "I used my Aura to heal whatever wounds you had, and replenished your own depleted Aura supply. Basically, it's like an Aura transfusion. I learned how to do it a long time ago. My sisters back home had me use it on them whenever they needed that kind of recovery boost."

He scratched his cheek embarrassedly as he looked off to the side. "It requires me to be uncomfortably close, though." At least, that's what Yang said he had to do when he asked her for help in refining the ability back then. It never occurred to him to try it a different way. "Sorry, about that. I guess I should have warned you. I get impulsive sometimes."

"I'll let you off this time." Weiss muttered, still flushed from the experience. Her ice-blue eyes examined the sheepish blonde she had yet to learn the name of, mostly due to her own stubbornness to accept the situation. While she wasn't going to stop being annoyed at her predicament any time soon, at least the boy did seem genuinely nice. She only hoped he was smart, as well.

"All right, let's start this over," Jaune broke the silence. He stood up and stuck his left hand out to help the white-haired girl up.

She blinked several times at the offered appendage.

"I'd like to begin our partnership on the right foot. My name is Jaune Arc, and I'm going to be dedicating the next two years of my life to helping you reach your goals. And, if you're willing, I'd like to do so as friends," Jaune spoke sincerely and grinned at the girl who was staring at him expressionlessly.

Weiss gripped Jaune's gloved hand and nodded appreciatively as he led her up. She studied the young swordsman for a bit, then let out a rare smile that highlighted her fragile beauty.

"Fine, Jaune. I probably don't have to introduce myself since you seem to already know who I am, but my name is Weiss Schnee, and I look forward to your assistance." Weiss patted the dirt off her battle skirt. "By the way, do you always act and talk like an idiot?" she asked with a pointed look directed at the blonde boy watching her.

Jaune chuckled at her blunt words. "I don't think I do, but maybe I'll keep it up just for you, Snow Princess," he lightly teased.

Weiss stomped her foot down. "First rule, if we're going to be friends, don't call me that!"

"Fine, fine. How about…White Pixie or Snow Angel?"

"Those are even worse!"

Jaune smirked humorously at the fuming girl who looked prepared to stab him in the eyes with Myrtenaster. Maybe this contract would go faster than he thought.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note: **That was a hard chapter for me to write since it was all about setup for future chapters. The next entry will be much easier, since I can fool around with Weiss and Jaune's character development and interaction.

PS - You know what sucks? Your story getting somehow deleted in the Manage Stories area when all you're doing is replacing chapter content. I received one of the errors many others have been getting, refreshed, then got told my story was deleted [insert code string]. There goes the 25 reviews, 38 favs, and 40 watches... I know they're just numbers, but they were motivating for me. Now, I feel a bit apathetic, I guess. Sent a request for recovery, but got no response. Anyways, I'll try to move forward, even if there's less attention for this story after what happened.

Cheers...


	4. Of Beasts, Bonds, and Burdens

**Disclaimer: **The RWBY universe is owned by Rooster Teeth Productions. I do not claim ownership, or do this for any monetary gain.

* * *

**RWBY**

**The Grimm Knight**

Of Beasts, Bonds, and Burdens

* * *

_**Afternoon at Nylpheim Hills…**_

Streaks of blue, red, and yellow danced through the air in magnificent strokes, similar to how an artist would dress a canvas with brush in hand. Except that the canvas was in the form of two grotesquely huge spider-like Grimm that had a tendency to assault their prey with sharp fangs coated in paralyzing venom. And the brush being used was a slender sword capable of thrusting out gruesome violence.

Weiss glided along the grassy terrain, using a red Dust chamber to enhance her counter blocks against the hostile arachnids lunging at her with reckless abandon. She switched to a light blue capsule after narrowly avoiding the more active of the two and swept her rapier low, unleashing a wave of ice that effectively trapped both Grimm creatures in a jagged ice prison. However, it didn't look like the sturdy mass would hold them long.

She quickly retreated towards an outcropped rock on the hill that had a lone blonde boy sitting on it leisurely, watching with calculating eyes.

"Weiss, are you all right to continue?" Jaune asked in concern as he glanced at the regal girl panting heavily near him. She was using the rock to steady her shaky balance. Endurance still wasn't one of her strongest attributes, even after all the time they'd spent the past few months trying to improve it.

"I can!" Weiss breathed in more air greedily, wincing at the feel of her dry throat. "I can do this. Stop worrying about me, Arc. Besides, you're about to lose our bet," she remarked as her hand tightened around the polished hilt of Myrtenaster, activating a row of glyphs along the gray sword's skinny blade. A second later, she was off in a trail of frost.

"It's never good when she uses my last name…" the blonde swordsman grumbled. He could only hope that she exercised more caution with the creatures known as Kyclopse.

These arachnid-type Grimm had powerful exterior protection on the topmost of their body in the form of thick, segmented bone plating. Its bulbous underbelly was a major weak spot, which was why it stuck low to the ground and generally took quick, short lunges that didn't allow for much opportunity to capitalize on the exposure. If Hunters wanted to take this Grimm down, they'd have to employ a decent level of basic strategy.

This was the reason why he brought Weiss out here to fight them. She was due for another practical test, and the Kyclopse were an appropriately low-tier Grimm to use as material. Speaking of which, it looked like his stubborn ward was about to finish them off.

Weiss stopped in front of her iced enemies who were starting to break through their temporary encasement.

"_Patience, Weiss, time your techniques. Show that goofy blonde what you're made of!"_ With a look of determination, she swished her unoccupied hand in a figure-eight motion and then knelt down to set her palm to the ground. A black glyph expanded from the point of contact, spanning the entire area she froze.

"_One…two…" _

The Kyclopse burst into the air, sending chunks of ice in every direction.

"_Three!"_

Weiss swiped up with Myrtenaster, summoning a slew of frost glyphs that soared at her enemies, sealing them in their suspension. She then jumped high, quickly switching her weapon's Dust capsule to red in the process, and stabbed the frostbitten earth hard upon landing.

The ice maiden's Dust-formed crystals shattered into hundreds of sharp pieces that hovered over her wide glyph. The symbol then pulsed with visible purple energy.

All at once, the ice shards shot up in a gravity reversed hail storm, many embedding themselves into the exposed underside of her helpless, screeching enemies. Eventually, there were no more ice fragments left and the glyph deactivated.

The unresponsive Grimm fell with a wet splat.

"Hah! Did you see that, Jaune? They didn't stand a chance!" The white-haired girl twirled on the spot in a rare display of childish elation. She struck a haughty pose as her Grimm tutor flipped off his seat and walked towards her casually.

"I'm impressed! You didn't focus only on sword techniques and combined your Dust and semblance abilities to dispatch the enemy. Quick, brutally effective, and well-thought-out," Jaune commended the happy girl who was glowing from his praise and her own accomplishment. He found it hard not to mimic the infectious grin on her face. "Y'know, it's unfortunate that you frown so much when you've got such a pretty smile, Ice Princess."

"Stop with the corny compliments, idiot," Weiss lightly smacked the boy's shoulder in response. Her pleasant expression didn't change, however. There were many aspects of her blonde companion that she was still learning to deal with, such as his playful demeanor. It was a side of him that she both hated and enjoyed in equal amounts. Especially when those expressive deep-blue eyes of his challenged her chilly composure to not melt in its warmly protective gaze…

"She's spacing out again…" Jaune sighed. The Schnee heiress was staring at the far hills on the horizon with glazed-over eyes. She did this often when in his company, mostly when he was talking, too.

"I don't think I'm that boring, am I?" he asked himself as he began his unique process of disposing the Grimm bodies. It only took him two minutes to absorb the lifeless creatures into his temporarily black flesh.

"Ah!"

The blonde swordsman looked back and couldn't help but laugh. Weiss had fallen on her petite rear, thin legs trembling as she tried unsuccessfully to get them to cooperate. This was another usual occurrence.

"Legs buckled in? Not unexpected, you were skating all over the place today. I'm surprised that fragile body of yours didn't stop listening earlier."

"Shut up and help me!"

"Yes, yes. Your faithful manservant will do as you command," he replied nonchalantly.

"Good, you do remember your place," Weiss said with a royal flip of her lengthy ponytail. It didn't do much to save face since she was sitting pathetically on the wet grass. "Sometimes I wonder why I even keep you around. Now, boost—Jaune!?"

Jaune ignored the girl's vocal upset and instead held her closer to his torso while carrying her bridal style. "Not going to happen. There's no point in training your endurance if you keep using me as a battery to re-energize yourself. It has to improve naturally, or you'll keep falling like this."

"It's not like I enjoy letting you see me fall," she frowned. It was a partial lie. She did secretly savor the result, which led to either being pleasurably rejuvenated by his touch, or carried to safety in his comfortable arms. Half the time this happened, it felt like her legs gave out for subconscious want to be pampered by her blonde protector.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter, since I'm usually nearby but…" Jaune wished he had a hand free to scratch his chin nervously, a social tick of his. "Please take better care of yourself. I won't always be here to pick you up, even if I'd like to be. I mean, once you go to Beacon and my contract is finished, we'll be separated."

"Hmph!" The delicate beauty turned her head away from him.

As usual, when it came to dealing with Weiss at least, his words of concern seemed to have the opposite desired effect. Maybe he should start flipping a coin to decide whether he should say anything at all. Mustering up another dose of courage, he decided to continue.

"You know I'm onl—Umph!" Jaune almost bit his tongue off from the abrupt pulling of his black hoody that made him look down at his ward. She was staring at him with defiant ice-blue eyes.

"Jaune Arc, you're a fool if you think you're going to get away from me that easily. The chain I have around your neck won't disappear until I very well please. Remember that," Weiss firmly said before letting go of the black cloth and settling back down with peacefully lidded eyes.

"G-got it, Weiss," the confused blonde stuttered. Rather than trying to figure out what she meant, he decided to simply continue walking towards the Dust helicopter in close distance. Patiently waiting in the cockpit was Gregory, the Schnee family butler he had the unfortunate circumstance of meeting eight months ago in Forever Fall.

"Don't forget, I won our little wager. Ten Grimm killed and not a single one touched me," Weiss reminded, smugly grinning. "You know what that means, vassal. Three weeks of unlimited foot massages for your merciful mistress." She looked up and was a bit disappointed to see the blonde's lack of reaction.

"Psh! That's not much of a punishment. I thought I would have to dance naked around your dad while wearing a horse mask or something. What a boring Princess I am bound to serve," Jaune grieved jokingly.

The white-haired girl shook her head to avoid any potential imagery. She then crossed her arms authoritatively with a frown. "Excuse me, but how is what I outlined not punishment? At any moment, I can request you to abandon whatever you may be doing, be it bathing or sleeping, and deliberately order you to come over, kneel down, and massage."

"Well, to be honest, you have cute feet. I wouldn't mind touching them all the time," Jaune candidly stated without shame, looking down at the girl in his arms who was turning a healthy shade of red. "In fact, it feels like you're rewarding me right now. Who else can claim they were able to caress the beautiful feet of Weiss Schnee, the fairest of them all?"

At that moment, Weiss felt very, very warm in various regions.

"Y-you are an incorrigible pervert!" she exclaimed, right before hastily scrambling out of Jaune's secure hold and running into the helicopter a few feet away. She slammed its metal door closed as soon as she made it in.

Jaune could see Gregory laughing bemusedly in the pilot's seat. It didn't last long due to the flustered girl's efficiency with slapping the poor man into silence.

"Does that mean I'm off the hook?" the blond knight wondered. He was beginning to see why Yang inappropriately teased him so much over the years. It was addictive when you had the right target.

OOO

_**Sometime later…**_

_**Early evening, Schnee Manor …**_

"Welcome back, Miss Schnee! Oh, and you too, Mr. Arc!" A young brunette woman dressed in a modest maid outfit greeted the two teens as they entered through the manor's intricately decorative front doors.

"Hey Nina! Anything exciting happen while we were gone?" Jaune asked with his characteristic slanted smile.

Weiss wasn't as receptive to the welcoming; instead she glared at the mousy maid that was trying to stutter out a response to the blonde swordsman. She swiftly withdrew Myrtenaster and shot a small ice dagger from its tip at a wall lamp across the room. It made a clear shattering noise, catching the conversing pair off guard.

"Nina, please go replace that light, promptly. We wouldn't want my father getting angry at such a trivial detail like a broken lamp, would we? Because that is what we hired our maids to deal with, trivial matters," the Schnee heiress coldly said.

"Y-yes, right at once, Miss Schnee!" Nina rushed into a nearby door to get the necessary supplies.

"What the hell was that, Weiss?"

"I'm not entirely sure what you're asking about."

"…There's a hand-sized icicle stuck in the wall, and you have your weapon out, pointed in the same direction," Jaune deadpanned, gesturing at the embedded shard.

The white-haired girl merely pointed her nose up in an aloof manner. "I shouldn't have to explain myself, but if you must know, I had to itch my brow," she lamely lied.

"With your sword?!"

"Ahem!" Alexander Schnee cleared his throat loudly as he walked down the steps leading to the lobby area where the two aspiring Hunters were. "It's good to see that the both of you are getting along. Mr. Arc, how did my daughter do with your most recent evaluation?"

Ignoring the weird behavior from before, Jaune smiled widely and set a comforting hand on the anxious girl's shoulder. She lightened up considerably from the contact.

"Weiss is improving by leaps and bounds. She has an amazing talent for combative strategy and really takes the time to analyze her enemy's features before initiating action. Despite her lack of endurance, she more than makes up for it with a tactile mind and flawless technique," the blonde tutor summarized proudly. He really was impressed with how far she had come in less than a year. When they started training together, she had a tendency to underestimate her opponents, hesitate at the worst times, and become sloppy from the slightest mistake in form. That wasn't the case now.

"She took out ten Grimm today; five Beowolves, three Ursa, and two Kyclopse, all without my help. I think it's safe to say that I won't be of any use to her once this year is done."

"That's not true!" Weiss exclaimed, causing the two males to look at her from the surprise outburst.

She grabbed her left arm awkwardly and looked down, taking interest in the floor's design. "Wh-what I mean to say is, the few times I have experienced real battle have not been exceptionally acceptable, I still have much to learn. Given Jaune's history, he definitely has an abundance of experience with the Grimm that I have yet to take full advantage of." She looked up at her father earnestly. "It will take me awhile to apply his teachings to my own fighting style, which his help will undoubtedly be needed for."

Alexander smiled at his serious daughter and then glanced at the puzzled blonde suspiciously. "Yes, I agree. While it is indeed heartening to hear that Weiss is flourishing under your tutelage, Jaune, you may be overestimating her abilities and underestimating your own wealth of disposable wisdom. Thankfully, there is time to properly share it with her. After all, you are obligated to abide by your contract's allotted time-frame," he patted the teen's shoulder roughly, which received him a grimace in response.

"Weiss, why don't you freshen up before dinner?" The silver-haired Schnee motioned to the stairs. "Exposure to Grimm blood is not healthy for young skin. Early wrinkles, they say."

"…Sure." Weiss looked apprehensive, but she acquiesced, ascending the steps slowly. She turned to speak, gaze lingering fondly on her blonde companion. "I'm calling in my reward tonight, Jaune. No excuses. Be ready." With that, she disappeared into the upper corridor area where her bedroom was located.

"Rule thirty-four, Mr. Arc."

Jaune tore his eyes away from the staircase, having been distracted by Weiss' slender retreating figure. "Uh, excuse me?"

Alexander fixed his intense, olive-green eyes on his employed bodyguard. "Rule thirty-four, document two, page three, paragraph five explicitly states; no romantic relations will be pursued with my innocently pure daughter. Penalty upon disregard of said rule includes maiming of—"

"Hold on, hold it! You don't have to restate the whole thing again. You've got nothing to worry about," the blonde held his hands up defensively.

"I don't?"

"Of course not," Jaune said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Let's see, how to put it... Do you have any sisters, Mr. Schnee?"

"No. I was brought up as an only child."

"Well, as you know, I grew up with two of them, and the way Weiss looks at me is similar to how they did." Jaune shook his head depressingly. "Actually, many women look at me like I'm their brother. It's an unfortunate part of the Arc experience that I'm trying to abandon the image of." He picked at his faded jeans with displeasure. "Maybe it's how I dress…"

"Imbecile..." Alexander groaned and tried to rub away a headache that was forming. His daughter had obviously grown attached to the stupidly oblivious boy before him, and as a father, he wasn't sure how to deal with it. It was times like these that he sorely wished his wife was still with him. He decided to discard any further thought on the issue. It would be dealt with later, as there were more serious matters to deal with right now.

"Nevermind, we will discuss this at a different time. At the moment, I have a matter of particular importance that requires your assistance. Let's relocate to my office." The older man didn't wait for the blonde's reply, already progressing to the second floor. The teen obediently followed, nonetheless.

When they entered the room, Jaune shut the door quietly behind them.

As usual, the SDC president had documents prepared for their discussion. He laid out a few photos and a shipping manifest with various notes scratched in next to passenger names and cargo.

"Go on, look."

Jaune did as told and scanned the contents attentively. The manifest was dated back two and a half years ago. There were many names crossed out in red ink with the word "dead" written on the side. The cargo, which consisted of Schnee Dust Company products, was noted to have been irrecoverable.

Next were the photos. Several pictures showed the scrapped remains of a massive train wreckage, most likely caused by powerful explosions of some sort, given the gnarled bends of the metal holes in each car. The rest had unfocused imaging of security androids fighting two shadowy figures; a masked man with windswept brown hair that had red streaks in it, and a girl whose bright amber eyes contrasted with the darkness of her wavy black locks.

"These two," Jaune pointed at the photos, "are responsible for all this?" He tapped the manifest, expression grim from seeing the number of people marked as deceased.

"Not necessarily," Alexander said, reaching into his desk drawer for a remote which he then clicked. The lights in the room dimmed as a projected screen came to life on the wall behind him. "This is footage from one of my downed AK-130 Androids that remained operational. Watch."

Clear text went across the screen.

**ID: TK068**

**Model: AK-130 Series 3.1 [Range Opt.]**

**Memory Stamp: 2137**** West Kingdom Standard Time **

The camera swiveled peculiarly with static feedback until it focused on the harsh clash of bullets and metal polluting the audio feed.

"What do you think you're doing? We don't have time for this!" the masked man from the photo bit out sharply as he blocked a flurry of slashes, his crimson sword growing brighter with each impact. He expertly sheathed his sword and smashed his attacker in the stomach with its hilt, effectively knocking the person back towards the oddly angled camera.

It was the dark-haired girl with exotic amber eyes.

"We shouldn't harm the crew! I thought our orders were to destroy the cargo, not kill innocents!" the girl's conflicted voice shouted over the sound of the tracks, hair whipping around from the train's vicious speed.

"These people stopped being innocent the moment they decided to work for the Schnee company! Now, help me plant those charges, or step aside. We're here to send a message, not a pacifist's warning. And any unfortunate circumstances that happen as a result?" The tall man firmly gripped the handle of his sword. "It's called collateral damage."

The girl's face showed obvious outrage. "This isn't right, the White Fang—"

"The White Fang, Blake, is under new leadership. And it doesn't have a place for the faint-hearted."

"I'm sorry, Adam. But I won't do this, and I won't let you, either." She cautiously touched the cleaver-shaped sheath of her weapon.

"...Fine, have it your way."

The image went haywire again, but the sound of intense combat was clearly discernible for several seconds. There was an extended period of silence right as the picture regained focus. The trench-coated man was standing over the dark-haired girl who looked to be in extreme pain while breathing irregularly.

"Consider this mercy for supporting the White Fang for so long," he said before he hopped to the train's connecting platform and cut the coupling effortlessly. His form became smaller over time due to the increasing distance between him and the slower disconnected transport. The footage faded out right as the amber-eyed female hit the floor from unconsciousness.

**Terminating record module…**

**Memory Stamp: 2147 West**** Kingdom Standard Time**

Alexander clicked the screen off, letting the lights fade on automatically.

"She failed to stop him and the train cars blew up, cargo, crew and all…" Jaune commented morosely. Even though he knew what was going to happen, he was really pulling for the virtuous dark-haired girl named Blake. "Was she all right? I didn't see any blood from whatever that Adam guy did."

"Unknown. By the time rescue response made it to the stray platform, no one was on it. Only my demolished drones remained." The silver-haired man took a seat at his desk. "However, ever since that incident, a mysterious individual has been feeding me valuable White Fang intel directly to my personal scroll. I was, of course, suspicious at first, but the relayed information has proven to be extremely reliable, allowing me to plan against attacks of similar nature to this train sabotage. The informant likes to sign with the handle _Shadow of the North_."

"Huh, interesting moniker. Any relation to the novel by Faunus author Gillian Winfield?" Jaune curiously asked.

"Not the faintest clue, but you may ask this person once you meet him or her tomorrow morning in Vale's commercial district," Alexander remarked behind folded hands.

"…Uh, what?"

The Schnee president produced a slip of paper from his suit pocket. "Here are the details specifying the location, time, and conditions to signify your representation on my behalf."

"I guess I should be used to this by now…" The blonde knight sighed, taking the offered item without question. Sometimes he felt like a rag-doll with how often he was thrown into these kinds of situations.

"The reason I am bringing this up to you under such short notice is due to having just received pertinent information from Shadow. Apparently, the White Fang are planning to carry out a stealth operation of comparable destruction to that of the delivery train from two years ago," Alexander explained, tapping the shipping manifest for emphasis. "However, the target this time is my Dust refinement factory in the industrial sector of Vale. The person spearheading the procedure is none other than Adam Taurus, the man you saw in the video."

"You mean the man responsible for killing all those workers…" Jaune clenched his fists tightly.

"Yes," the Schnee president nodded sullenly. "In precaution, I have rescheduled the night-shift factory workers and replaced them with the less efficient automatons. Slower production, but a necessary sacrifice in order to ensure there are no casualties if Adam is successful."

"That's good! But…why haven't you involved Vale's law enforcement if this guy's going to be exploding a place within their territory? You wouldn't have to worry about the dent in your manufacturing speed and security would be provided by a separate party at no cost to you," Jaune suggested while pacing to and fro.

"A reasonable question and solution," Alexander nodded. "To put it simply, the _Shadow of the North_ has voiced interest in confronting this Adam character up close themself. From the messages we exchanged, it sounds like a personal matter, but I owe this individual a favor for the abundance of information they have thus far provided without request of compensation. Without Shadow, I wouldn't even know about this planned sabotage."

The blond swordsman leaned on the oaken table in the middle of the room, expression contemplative. "That's really risky for a man like you to do. Would I be right in assuming that my job is to play fire control, in case something goes awry?"

"That is correct," the silver-haired man confirmed. "Even though Shadow has given me no cause for concern, he or she is still an unknown entity of allegiance and motive. You, Jaune, are my gambit for ensuring no harm comes to my facility, no matter what. I have notified my stipulation to Shadow, who has agreed to allow your presence, under the condition that you do not interfere unless absolutely necessary."

"Guess I'll ask what 'absolutely necessary' means when we meet. Y'know, you're throwing me into a pretty volatile situation, old man…" Jaune muttered angrily. "I might end up having to fight two people instead of one cold-blooded, bomb-happy terrorist. Who's to say this Shadow isn't thinking about switching sides and using me in some way?"

"That is partially why you will be meeting with Shadow in the morning, to discuss strategy and discern what colored chess piece this informant is." Alexander waved his hand airily. "Though, after what I've seen you capable of, Mr. Arc, I have no problem in placing the entirety of my confidence on your ability to deal with whatever may occur. But do limit the extent of damage that may befall your person. It would grieve me to have to hire another teacher for my daughter."

"Gee, thanks," the blonde sarcastically replied, already preparing to leave the room.

"Oh, and Mr. Arc."

Jaune paused in mid-grab of the door handle. "Let me guess, you want me to buy groceries on the way back?"

Alexander stroked his chin in thought. "No, I do believe I had you do that last week." He laughed internally at the blonde's irate grumbling. "It's more of a personal request on Weiss' behalf."

That caught the blonde's attention. "What is it?"

"Please avoid divulging the nature of your activities tomorrow to Weiss. Despite what you may foolishly believe about my daughter's feelings, you are at the very least her friend. Her only one, in fact, after having many of them disappear or distance themselves from the Schnee family. Hearing that you will be dealing with the White Fang will be enough to remind her of that fact, and the loneliness that accompanies it," Alexander elaborated in a somber tone.

"…I'll keep that in mind," Jaune faintly responded, promptly taking his exit. From the extensive amount of time he spent with the Schnee heiress, it didn't take him long to realize that she had no friends due to her family's circumstances. Hearing her father acknowledge it resolutely, like there was no way to remedy their situation, was unsettling.

He truly hated the White Fang more and more every day he spent alongside Weiss, an ambitious girl who hid her true feelings behind an icy-persona forged from isolation.

Generally, he made it a point to be a positive, relatively peaceful person. There was enough darkness in the world for him to lay off contributing to it. However, he couldn't ignore the violent feelings he felt for the radical organization's continuous use of violent protest. Tomorrow night, he would hopefully have an appropriate outlet for that frustration.

Jaune flexed his hands threateningly, relishing in the feel of the dark power flowing into them. "I can't wait to meet you, Adam Taurus…"

OOO

_**Elsewhere…**_

Short, wild blonde hair flowed erratically in a tempest of dark Aura power. Demonic red eyes glowed dangerously, promising pain to whoever assaulted its vision.

"Where is he?" a distorted voice growled out.

"Teams one and three have been knocked out, sir! What are your orders?!" shouted a security guard with the letters "SDC" printed on his protective vest. Around him were four men of same uniform, carrying Dust-capsuled assault rifles aimed at a blonde boy standing imposingly in front of a metal gate with an ornate frost symbol melded in the center. A butler-looking old man was slumped unconsciously against it in a rather beaten state. The area around him was scattered with motionless bodies.

"Don't fucking ignore me!" the blonde roared, whipping his left arm out and disappearing in a burst of black Dust. He reappeared in front of the fearful guards who were struggling to maintain grip of their firearms.

"One more time, where is the SDC President?"

"Open fi—"

The man who was about to yell the command to shoot was sent flying into a nearby tree with an over-powered shoulder throw. He hit the wood with a sickening crack.

"I'm sorry, but that didn't sound like the answer I wanted. Who else wants me to shove wood up their ass via air delivery?" the vicious boy snapped.

"H-he's a damn monster! Screw President Schnee's orders, aim to kill!"

None of the security guards had a chance to let a single bullet fly. One by one, they were dispatched brutally. The blonde blurred to the first frantic man, grabbed him by the ankle, and slammed him into the solid dirt. Another flash of black, two men were dragged forward by their arms and then savagely flung into each other with a resounding smack. The last man attempted to scramble away, only to come face-to-face with his assailant.

"P-pl-please, I didn't even have my gun loaded. I wasn't going to shoot!" the man pleaded.

"I don't care about that. All I care about is finding your cowardly, piece of shit boss so I can insert this," the boy transformed his hand into a heavily armored fist and continued, "—into his damn mouth, rip his spine out, beat him with it, and then force feed it back into the same nasty hole it came from."

"Here I thought we would be able to have a civil meeting, Jaune Arc. Are you always this…crude, in person?" an aged, smooth voice welcomed itself into the hostile situation. It belonged to a silver-haired man wearing an impeccably white suit.

The security guard took what he saw as an opportunity and attempted to run away. He didn't even make it an inch before being punched in the back of the neck and hitting the earth unceremoniously.

Jaune fixated his sinister red eyes on the nonchalant man standing at the open gate. "You kept me waiting for two hours, in a stuffy vehicle, holding conversation with that insufferable bastard butler of yours. I don't like waiting, Alexander Schnee, especially when it's for a man threatening someone I love."

"I do apologize for the wait; there were other matters of priority I had to take care of, and I couldn't very well have you tearing up my mansion with your childish behavior. You do understand, don't you?" Alexander asked with crossed arms.

Jaune pounded his fists together, expelling a burst of visible black Aura from his torso that immediately donned it in bone-plated armor. "You're in for a world of hurt, old man. I don't mind being mocked, but the moment you placed a target on my sister, you became MY prey."

The silver-haired man stroked his chin thoughtfully. "As I thought, that semblance alteration deteriorates your mind into a primal beast. But not so much so that you cannot show restraint, as is evident from my employees who are all still breathing. Quite formidable…"

The boy turned Grimm decided to ignore the Schnee president's absentminded words and readied himself to charge forward. "If you survive what I'm going to do to you next, Alexander, remember something important," he snarled.

"Yes, what would that be?" Alexander was the perfect image of calm.

"No one is allowed to hurt my sisters, and I will destroy whoever dares to try. They are my loved ones. Ruby is mine…" Jaune crouched low in a sprinter's stance, wisps of dark Aura flowing around him dangerously. "…and Yang is mine!" He burst forward with bullet-like speed.

However, he didn't notice Alexander Schnee's body flicker with static disturbance.

Jaune threw a massive haymaker to the man's skull that sailed harmlessly through it, causing him to tumble forward into a recovery roll. He angrily growled at the warped hologram. "You fucker! You're hiding behind fancy light effects instead of coming out here with honor!"

"Of course I am. However, that doesn't mean I'm a coward or dishonorable, only cautious. Which, from seeing how you are ignorantly reacting, was the right thing to be," the silver-haired Schnee frowned. "I do suggest you calm down before arriving to my doors."

"Do tell why?" The blonde dispersed his transformation and postured himself coolly, his crimson eyes and furious expression slowly changing into stoic normalcy.

"Think of me as a universal trigger, Jaune. The moment I am pulled, be it from injury or death, shots from an innumerable amount of aimed guns will go off. The results can be both literal and political, depending on my mood. If you intend to hurt me, then also be prepared to hurt your family," Alexander warned.

"Dammit..." Jaune muttered.

Alexander's hologram turned its back. "Now, please advance two miles northeast till you reach my mansion. I wish to meet with Jaune Arc the White Knight, not the Grimm Knight. Your darker side seems to prefer crass language rather than the lighter one who consumes classic literature like water."

"Are we going to have a book club discussion?" Jaune asked in a cheeky tone.

"Better. We will be playing chess." The refracted image fizzed out.

The blonde swordsman sighed tiredly, looking around at the violence his Grimm-self caused, and then made his way towards the mansion, out of view from the minuscule cameras embedded in the property gates.

**[] Rewind to time bookmark 00:04:45**

"No one is allowed to hurt my sisters, and I will destroy whoever dares to think otherwise. They are my loved ones. Ruby is mine…and Yang is mine!"

**[] Rewind**

"They are my loved ones. Ruby is mine…and—"

"YANG, what are you doing?! We're in the same room together, sis!"

The golden-haired girl tore her lilac eyes away from her scroll screen to look at her hysterical little sister. She pulled her ear-buds out. "Huh, what's up?"

"You're touching, y'know, where the birds meet the bees and…" Ruby trailed off, blushing a shade of red comparable to that of her hood. She was sitting on a bed opposite her sister, polishing the glossy metal of her Crescent Rose.

Yang glanced down and indeed, her right hand was rubbing promiscuously over her brown short shorts. She pushed her scroll away and laughed embarrassedly with her hands behind her head. "I, uh…"

She couldn't think of a valid excuse. How could she properly explain, to her little sister, that she was getting aroused from watching Jaune's violent display of love? Coupled with the way he possessively called her "his" and...continuing this line of thought would only put her right hand back to work.

"Oh, were you looking at the latest Achieve Men video?" Ruby inquired.

"Yeah, it had Gavin in it, and you know how much I like his…big nose?" Yang awkwardly snatched the opportunity to change topics. Though, her mind was elsewhere, thinking about the hacked footage she was watching. It was one her most recent pieces of salvaged evidence she had of her adoptive brother. It was also her favorite. But tomorrow, it might as well be trash, because she would have the real thing in front of her.

"Do you think we'll actually see Jaune tomorrow? Our last trip was a total failure." The dark redhead lovingly set her folded weapon to the side and then looked at her sister apprehensively.

"Trust me, sis, I've covered my bases. That sneaky bastard may have made us chase a bunch of false leads these past few months, but I've got solid information this time, straight from the underworld grapevine!" Yang grinned.

All it took was for her to scroll message an information broker known as _Shadow of the North_. She did it out of desperation, after having been led to five different abandoned mansions owned by the SDC president. The guy was extremely paranoid; moving to a new property once every three years under false identities and keeping the previous ones for deception. Getting into contact with him was also next to impossible, as he arranged meetings on his own choice and terms. Consulting lawyers or police about any of this was entirely out of the question, as well, since he had his hands deep in both those cookie jars.

Luckily, Shadow pointed her in the right direction by providing extensive details concerning Alexander's current residence and media files showing Jaune's continued presence there. Oddly enough, the transaction only required her to provide verification of her identity by meeting at a café in south Vale and sitting there for ten minutes. No one came, but as soon as she stood up to leave, her scroll was flooded with juicy documents, pictures, and videos.

"Sooooo…what's our strategy for operation _Save the Jaune_?"

Yang brought her mind back to reality and reassumed a comfortable position by laying on her side to look at her little sister. "We're going to charge straight in, of course!"

"Seriously?" Ruby asked dejectedly. She was not the least impressed with the golden-blonde's answer.

"You have a problem with it?"

"Well…yeah. It's boring."

"We'll be rushing through gunfire, knocking out whoever's stupid enough to get in our way, and then escaping with Jaune against a horde of private thugs! It's pretty much like living that one movie, Blitz Hour. How is that boring?" Yang was obviously offended.

"It would be SO much cooler if we snuck in using the veil of night, moving right under the enemy's nose while stealthily—"

"Let my stop you right there, sis," Yang interrupted her starry eyed sister. "First off, our weapons aren't exactly the most quiet, and neither are we. Second, lay off Jaune's East Kingdom ninja novels, they're rotting your head. And last, THAT strategy is boring, not mine."

Ruby puffed her cheeks with air and then pouted. "You're a jerk, but I guess you're right."

"Of course I am! Uh, right, that is."

"It is pretty smart, too," the dark redhead said as she plopped backwards, letting her head bounce on a soft white pillow. She stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I mean, we're the blackmail material being used against Jaune, right? If we get hurt, Mr. Schnee loses his leash, and big bro goes Grimm berserk like we saw in that video you got. So, what can he really do if we appear unexpectedly at his doorstep and beat up all his security?"

"Heh, yeah, that's what I was totally going for," Yang nervously laughed. Honestly, she just wanted to beat the hell out of everyone Schnee-related and finally bring her idiot brother home to help her grind out some frustrations of a physical kind.

Ruby spread herself wide eagle and giggled happily. "I can't wait to catch up with Jaune! We'll talk about Crescent Rose's upgrades, how awesome I've become, compare weapons, watch ninja movies—"

"Wait, wait, wait, who said you get to spend time with him first, sis?" Yang glared at her.

The dark redhead turned on her side and smiled impishly. "The younger sister always takes priority over the OLDER one."

"You little brat…" The golden-blonde stood up, pillows held threateningly in both hands.

Ruby flipped up, her own pillows held at the ready as well. "Bring it on, Sister Bear!"

"You asked for it!"

The room became polluted with the sound of female laughter and soft impacts.

It was a nice night to have in precedence of the next day, which was guaranteed to be full of nonstop fighting and long-awaited reunions.

**To Be Continued…**

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**Author's Note: **And there's the second set-up chapter, which leads to the last two chapters of this story's Pre-Beacon Arc. Next one will involve interesting meetings, fierce confrontations, and more! I'm honestly looking forward to wrapping this all up to dissolve it in canon-ish storyline environment.

PS - Thanks for all your kind words and support. It helped push me through writing this a bit faster. It's REALLY hard for me since I'm no Hemingway. I have no idea how fanfic authors like Kenchi618 and AlphaDelta1001 can pound out such legible material in so short of time. Anyways, time to sod off to Durham to fulfill another contract. Would you kindly review?

Cheers!


	5. Facing the Past to Seize a Future, P1

**Disclaimer: **The RWBY universe is owned by Rooster Teeth Productions. I do not claim ownership, or do this for any monetary gain.

* * *

**RWBY**

**The Grimm Knight**

Facing the Past to Seize a Future

Part I

* * *

_**Early morning, atop The Eye of Petrin… **_

Dark blue eyes coolly stared at the shatter-phased moon that was soon to be replaced by the rising sun in the twilight sky.

"I bet the moon was beautiful before the Great Grimm Wars," Jaune muttered, continuing his observance. From his days in Signal Academy, he remembered reading history textbooks that often referenced to ancient drawings where the moon was shown to behave differently in its cyclic transitions. However, something occurred during mankind's time of uprising against the Grimm which led to a drastically different celestial body. While many of Remnant's population found its visual shift in time radiant and poetic, he merely felt a sense of foreboding every time he saw it.

But that was likely due to its ominous appearance in his many nightmares.

"Come on, you're nervous enough as it is. Lighten up, Jaune," the blonde swordsman chastised himself as he casually leaned against the gargoyle sculpture next to his seated place on the roof's ledge. According to Vale's large clock tower in the center of the city, it was almost six o'clock. Fifteen minutes from now, the Shadow of the North was scheduled to meet with him on this precariously tall building's rooftop.

It was an interesting meeting place, given the stone structure's historic background dating back to the founding of the four Kingdoms. It was used as a lookout tower during Vale's time of construction way back when. The Shadow of the North had a taste for relics it seemed.

Jaune returned his distracted gaze to the book in his left hand. _"Chapter Nine: The Noble Archer of Vytal…"_ he read morosely.

This was the story Ruby and Yang constantly requested him to read to them when they were younger. It was a grand retelling about a real hero named Artimus, an experienced ranger who wandered the lands of Vytal not too long before any of the Kingdoms surfaced. The young man went to amazing lengths to uphold selfless ideals, facing hordes of vicious Grimm with nothing but two short blades at his side and a large ebony bow strapped to his back. For many years he saved a countless number of lives without want of reward, simply moving on to the next area he felt might need his aid.

Artimus' campaign of valor met its end on a hill drenched in dark crimson blood. While he was strong enough to protect Vytal's patches of struggling humanity, he wasn't fast enough to intercept the rampaging force of Grimm that tore through his home village in his absence. When he came upon the gore and destruction, he swore vengeance and chased after his cursed targets. He encountered them on a large viridian field and began his assault atop a grassy knoll.

Hundreds of Grimm died without warning, pierced by a rain of arrows that Artimus shot into the air with ungodly speed. Those that didn't fall were disposed of by brutal, decapitating slashes from two white gleaming swords. However, the hero was mortal and therefore prone to eventual weakness. Grievous wounds built up on his body. For every kill a cut, ten more a gash, and so on. After slaying the last of his soulless enemies, he crawled to the top of the lonely hill he started on, bleeding fatally with each inch of ground covered. In his final moments, he fell to his back and smiled serenely at the cloud peppered sky above him, satisfied with the life he led.

That's how the glorified version went.

While it wasn't widely known, Artimus kept letter correspondence with his family, friends, and lover during his travels. A descendant of his gathered those letters and released them as a collective work titled _Vytal's Tragic Hero, _a fitting name due to the twisted reality divulged within.

In his letters, the ranger confessed how he continually sacrificed opportunities to help smaller communities so that the larger ones would thrive and hopefully bolster mankind's chance for survival. The mental damage of such decisions broke him, and his relationships. His family treated his depression as a hopeless cause, his friends grew tired of trying to ground him for his own happiness, and he separated himself from his lover so she wouldn't be harmed from his constant exposure to danger.

In Artimus' last years, he became a reclusive savior weighed down by hedgehog's dilemma; it wasn't long till the letters turned into private journal entries instead, having no one else to share his thoughts with. The last chapter of the book contained a single entry by him that revealed a man who was tired, hopeful, and ready to stop his heroic crusade to finally pursue the life others wanted him to have.

Until, that is, he came back to a home lying in ruins. The rest was fiction.

Reflectively, Jaune mused on his greatest motivator for wanting to enroll in Beacon Academy; his two reckless sisters who grew up on fantastical versions of stories such as this one.

"I might as well add Weiss to the list," he said to himself, thinking about the stubborn white-haired female he grew to care for. Despite her already impressive skill in fighting, she was fragile as well. He felt the same burning urge to protect her as he did for Ruby and Yang.

While he acknowledged these girls were strong in both body and mind, he knew how vulnerable they were to their own emotions. Ruby's naively optimistic view of life was doomed to shatter at some point during her training as a Huntress. Yang's devil-may-care attitude already landed her in a bad situation. And Weiss was too headstrong at times to ask for help.

If any of them ever fell, he'd be the one to pick them up or cushion their fall. And unlike the legendary Artimus, his priorities relied on the safety of his loved ones first, others second.

Setting the worn book down, Jaune hopped off the stone edge to stretch vigorously. He cleared his mind of thoughts concerning the future. After all, he was getting ahead of himself. There was another year left for him to accomplish his duties as Alexander's favorite whipping boy.

The clack of heeled-boots hitting the rooftop's surface broke the atmospheric silence.

"Hm, _Legends of Remnant's Rise. _A modern hero who reads about heroes of the past…" a mellow feminine voice spoke.

Jaune turned around to examine his unexpectedly early company. Unfortunately, he couldn't discern much from the cloaked and hooded figure in front of him. She was obviously female, given her alluring smooth tone and the visible curves of the thin dark-purple cloth hiding her body. He looked at the only exposed part of the newcomer, a pair of soft lips.

"I'm hardly a hero, just another fan who admires their accomplishments," he responded with a slanted smirk.

The mysterious female cocked her head to the side. "You are Jaune Arc; Grimm Protector of the Stray Faunus and White Knight of Forever Fall."

"The name's right, not sure about the titles. Though, I did tend to help out Faunus settlements with their Grimm problems when I traveled around. Whatever stories you heard were probably over exaggerated," the blonde swordsman said as he extended his hand good-naturedly. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Shadow of the North."

"Likewise, Grimm Knight," she quietly replied, shaking his offered appendage. She then retreated her hand to pull back her hood carefully, revealing a pretty face framed by long, wavy dark hair topped by a black bow.

Jaune's eyes widened in recognition. His reaction wasn't missed by the dark-haired girl.

"I must look familiar, assuming Alexander showed you the video he recovered of Adam and I from over two years ago," she said, staring at the blonde with piercing amber eyes.

"He did…your name is Blake, right?"

"Correct. And as you can guess, I'm an ex-member of the White Fang," Blake declared. "What you saw in that footage…wasn't my proudest moment. Because of my failure, innocent people died that night." She vividly recalled the event that forced her to see the organization she devoted herself to in a different light.

Jaune noticed how Blake's bitter statement was accompanied by a look full of self-hate and regret. She definitely had survivor's guilt concerning the incident.

"As a form of retribution, you became the Shadow of the North and started giving Alexander Intel to stop attacks like that from happening again," he surmised aloud.

Blake favored the blonde with an appraising eye. "Yes, that is one of two reasons I took up that alias and helped SDC's president. The other is because I naively believed that I could change things by fighting from the shadows. However, from my experience these past few years, I've learned that nothing I desire will come true if I don't begin fighting in a more direct manner."

"Ha, I can't disagree; sometimes it's best to be blunt with your approach, but that really depends on what your goals are. What is it you fight for, Blake?" Jaune curiously asked with a disarming grin.

The dark-haired girl stared at him with a straight-face as a strong morning breeze washed over them, rustling their hair and clothes. Discreetly, she unlatched the clasp of her flailing cloak and let the high wind carry it away in its path, revealing the interesting attire he saw her in from Alexander's video.

"I fight for many things, Jaune Arc. Mainly, I fight for peace," Blake stated in a calm tone, arms crossed under her chest. "Peace for the discriminated Faunus who are still shackled by the ignorance of others, and peace for those too weak in this cruel world to fight against the true rulers of our existence, the Grimm. How about you?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "My reasons are a bit selfish when compared to yours."

Blake merely sent him an amused grin. "Humor me."

"I fight…" the blonde teen started with a deadly serious expression, picturing three particular individuals in his mind. "I fight to protect those I love. Unfortunately, the people I care for are determined to become Hunters. So, I'll do everything in my power to make sure their dreams becomes a reality, and that they don't get hurt in the process."

The dark beauty let out a series of muted chuckles covered by a delicate hand, tickled by the blonde's dramatic delivery.

"H-hey, I didn't think you meant humor in the literal sense," Jaune exclaimed timidly with a burning face.

"I'm sorry. I just find your passion entertaining," Blake apologized as she slowly brought her hand down. "You aren't selfish for wanting to protect those close to you. I might even be able to help you as your partner, once we reach Beacon Academy."

"You're going to Beacon? Wait, how did you even know I was planning to go there?"

The dark-haired girl blinked owlishly at her stupefied, blonde company. "That's right. I haven't told you what my plans are for tonight's operation, have I? You must have been wary of me this entire time, knowing what you do."

"Eh? No, not really," Jaune waved her concern away nonchalantly.

"You do realize I used to work with Adam, and that he is the person we will be seeing at the SDC facility, right? It's quite reasonable to be suspicious, I won't take offense," Blake explained.

"Why should I be? Despite the shady nature of your profession, you've been pretty forthcoming with your information. Hell, you even revealed your identity to me instead of hiding it till later," Jaune shrugged. "You've also saved numerous innocent lives by giving Alexander your Intel at no cost. It's hard to be suspicious of someone as noble as you, Blake. White Fang history or not, I trust you because of your respectable character. So, whatever you have planned tonight, I don't mind helping you accomplish it."

Blake blushed at the blonde's sincere words. She couldn't think of a time when such weighted compliments had been directed at her. Bashfully, she looked down, finding it hard to come up with an appropriate response.

"…Thank you, Jaune. I won't misplace your confidence in me. I promise."

Jaune leveled a small grin at her. "I'll hold you to that. Now, let's get down to business."

"Right," Blake acknowledged his request with a nod. "This evening, I intend to cut all ties to my past and abandon my position as an Information Broker so I can pursue a different future. But before I do that, I want to try one last time to dissuade the White Fang from continuing their violent form of protest. Consequently, Adam is one their top operatives, influentially high in their ranks. If I convince him that their current methods are ineffective, then I can at least walk away knowing I've done what I can, for now."

"Will that work? The Faunus population's disgust for the White Fang's activities hasn't done much to stop them. Also, are you sure Adam will be receptive to your advice? He doesn't seem like someone that's easy to reason with, and he obviously doesn't mind the bloodshed."

"I have thought about both, and yes, it may all be for naught, but this is all I can do with what little power I have. I'm ready to close this chapter of my life with no regrets. Whatever happens tonight, please understand that Adam is my responsibility. The protection of the SDC facility is yours," Blake said firmly, giving the blonde knight a hard stare to accentuate the finality of her statement.

Jaune stepped over to the roof's waist-high ledge and leaned on it casually with his arms crossed. "…Fine. But if you're in danger, or I see him hold up a button for some fireworks, I'm jumping straight in to take him down. No arguments," he responded with equal resolution.

"I appreciate your concern for my safety, however…" Blake put her hand behind her back and swiftly pulled out her weapon of choice, a katana with a compact pistol built into its hilt. She then collapsed it into a variant form so that it now looked like a sickle fused with a high-powered firearm. "I'm not weak or unprepared. Come what may, I can handle anything with Gambol Shroud."

Jaune shook his head dismissively. "I wasn't judging you. I just want you to consider your opponent. You know him better than I do. Will Adam pull his punches because of your past relations? Last time you saw him was in combat, right?"

Blake instantly recalled the final moments of her battle with her former associate. That fateful night, he was about to stab her through the stomach with his sinister blood-red sword when he scowled at the last second and chose to slam the flat of his blade against her temple instead. It was brief, but she had felt his intent to kill her. Time most likely nurtured what hate he had for her.

"I see where you're coming from…" she dejectedly admitted as she sheathed her weapon.

"_Way to be a downer,"_ Jaune chastised himself, seeing the dark beauty's downtrodden expression. He should have disregarded her misinterpretation and simply accepted her words. Besides, it wasn't like she could sway him from getting involved if her situation turned dire. She was well-intentioned and merciful, someone worth protecting, and the polar opposite of the guy he wanted to break the face of.

Feeling uncomfortable from the prolonged silence and the girl's gloomy demeanor, he decided it was time to steer their conversation elsewhere.

"This future of yours, mind if I ask what it entails?" Jaune's question caused the dark-haired girl to break out of her funk.

"No, I don't mind at all." Blake gave the blonde swordsman a pleasantly amused grin, appreciating his not-so-subtle attempt to divert her attention away from depressive thought. She wandered over to his side and mimicked his position, leaning back on the cold stone with her arms behind her back. "I want to become a Huntress at Beacon Academy. If I can get certified there, I'll be able to accomplish both of my goals. Two birds with one stone, as they say."

Jaune glanced to his side, observing how the girl calmly stared at the peaceful morning. "That's right, fighting for peace. If you become a Huntress, you can protect the weak and use your reputation to act as a figurehead for Faunus rights. The Hunters that come out of Beacon are especially well respected in society due to the strict graduation requirements. You need to excel in both general and combat education."

Blake looked over at her affable company with evident praise in her amber eyes. "You're more perceptive than I expected. Not many take notice of the other types of power that accompany a successful Hunter career in our modern day life."

Jaune idly shrugged. "I've read an extensive amount about accomplished Hunters, comes with being a hero enthusiast. Anyway, If they aren't educating other hopefuls in combat school as a professor, they tend to pull contract work with the Kingdoms or take up politics instead, using their fame to get important positions," he explained as he met the girl's amber gaze. "I figured you'd lean towards the latter, since it has the greatest potential of helping the Faunus."

"The more I talk to you, Jaune, the more I feel secure with the idea of having you as my partner at Beacon." Blake smiled demurely at the blonde knight.

"That's the second time you've brought up that _partner_ thing. What does that have to do with Beacon?" Jaune raised his eyebrow curiously. While he was knowledgeable about most subjects Hunter-related, it was limited when it came to the combat academy education system. Graduation requirements were the only part of it he knew…

Just now, he realized that he would have to participate in general classes again once he hit Beacon. It would probably be a good idea to start paying attention to the lessons Weiss received from her private tutors to brush up on his lack of basic academic knowledge. He mentally grieved, feeling an impending headache from thinking about his worst subject, Math. What was the point of learning how to calculate the length of your shadow at morning and noon, followed by measuring its area? He was preparing to fight creatures of darkness with his pointy sword, not the end of a ruler!

Clueless of the teen's inner turmoil, the dark-haired girl answered.

"Beacon Academy is well-known for partnering students into teams for their four years of training. As you know, there aren't many Hunters who go solo, so getting used to team dynamics is an important part of the curriculum," Blake explained sagely, watching the blonde soak in the information. "Unfortunately, the ritual associated with the team formation isn't as public. What is known is the fact that you're stuck with who you get, which is why I want to make sure I get someone I can tolerate and _enjoy_," she finished, unintentionally accentuating the last word with a slight blush.

Jaune was, of course, oblivious to both cues.

Heavily sighing, the blonde propped his left elbow in his right hand and rubbed his chin nervously. "I should really start researching this Beacon place before I get sidelined by some custom of theirs I don't know of. I never had to worry about that in Signal. What beginner academy did you attend, Blake?"

"Hm? I've never attended a combat school before. Everything I know is from independent study and my time in the White Fang," the dark-haired girl responded casually without worry.

"Seriously? Then how are you going to get into Beacon? Even I know you have to have damn good grades and professor recommendations to get considered for enrollment there."

Blake smirked coyly. "I'm going to utilize the same service Alexander is providing you upon the completion of your contract. While I do operate with information on a regular basis, I specialize in gathering it. President Schnee, on the other hand, is a master at fabrication. After tonight, I'll join you on your return trip so I may meet with him. You know him well. Do you think he'll reject my request?"

"Ha, given everything you've done for him? Not at all. The old man's more appreciative of your help than you think. A simple background modification shouldn't bother him," Jaune reassured her.

"That's good. I didn't want to force my hand by threatening to release files concerning his illicit activities, such as blackmailing you into his employ."

Jaune looked at the dark-haired girl inquisitively. "All right, I have to ask. You mentioned my time wandering around Vytal, my plan to go to Beacon, and now my circumstances with Alexander. How do you know all this?"

Blake gave the blonde knight an amused look. "You haven't made the connection yet? I'm one of the agents President Schnee hired to keep tabs on you before the formation of your agreement. It was the only task I had him pay me for."

"Ah, well that explains part of my past," Jaune nodded in acceptance. "But shouldn't you have stopped after I met the old man then?"

"I…" Blake began, and then trailed off into silence. She set her poker face on display as she wracked her head for an appropriate cover up. She wasn't going to admit that her fondness for the White Knight led her to be a bit invasive with his life after the SDC President took hold of him.

It was an attraction that sprouted from watching afar as Jaune valiantly saved her people, the Faunus, on a regular basis. During that time, she grew into a comfortable routine of shadowing him from the morning he would clumsily wake up to the end of the night when he would read his books aloud till sleep embraced him. You could learn a lot about a person from watching them when they believe no one is around to see their best and worst qualities. And Jaune's stack of endearing qualities dwarfed the bad by far, in her opinion at least.

On multiple occasions, she entertained the idea of directly involving herself with his travels. However, it would have conflicted heavily with her other activities, which involved analyzing the White Fang networks and assisting various clients to earn income for Beacon's future expenses.

It was a disappointing day when Alexander's butler unexpectedly showed up to seize her subject of entertainment, even if it was followed by a hefty sum of money transferred into her account. A week later, the blonde knight's situation still plagued her mind, so she hacked into Alexander's scroll for information and access to his cameras, thankfully finding what she desired. From there, casual observance turned into ritual ceremony, making a sizable imprint in her collection of files related to the Grimm Knight.

She wasn't a stalker, by any means. She was just a motivated young woman who found someone worthy of her attention.

Her large data collection was the main reason it didn't take her long to respond to the request of Jaune's eldest sister, Yang. As it stood, she had the material ready, and she personally felt the troubled swordsman was long overdue for a family reunion. Plus, she wasn't comfortable with how close he was getting to the Schnee heiress he was guarding. Getting his sisters implanted back in his life would throw a much needed wrench in that girl's path.

She was done pulling strings from the shadows; it was time she attacked from it. This applied to all avenues of her life. The first step was Beacon, next her career as a Huntress, then her fight within society's cesspool known as politics. And hopefully, given enough manipulation, Jaune would be at her side during it all. She needed a light to guide her from the encompassing darkness, and so did he.

On a different plane of existence…

"Come on, right in the middle of conversation?" Jaune exclaimed as he waved a hand in front of the glassy-eyed dark beauty at his side. What was it about him that made these girls space out randomly! He walked in front of the dazed female and shook her shoulders to bring her back to reality.

"Huh?" she dumbly said, amber eyes looking up to see the blonde's exasperation.

Sighing in resignation, he didn't even bother to call her out. "You were about to say something?"

"R-right," Blake stuttered uncharacteristically, face warm due to her possessive thoughts and awkward reaction. At least she had a proper defense ready. "The reason I knew about your circumstances afterward is because of your sister, Yang Xiao Long. A few days ago, she asked for my assistance in regards to your whereabouts. I broke into Alexander's security and learned what I could."

"_You're the most persistent person I know, Yang," _Jaune thought as he tiredly palmed the front of his face. "How much does she know?"

"Not much. I gave her a few videos showing that you're physically fine and a document or two detailing the duties you have working under Alexander, not the conditions behind it," Blake lied. She didn't want him to brood over the idea of seeing his sisters right now, especially given how cautious he already was about their activity tonight.

"Tch…I'm in for a huge beating when I see her at Beacon, but I deserve it. It's going to be hard earning both Ruby and Yang's trust again after how long I've ignored them," Jaune lamented while looking at his feet guiltily.

This piqued the dark-haired girl's interest. She never understood why the blonde distanced himself from his family, only that it was related to his malicious-feeling semblance power. However, due to seeing his dismissive expression, instead of asking him his reasons she would extend the same courtesy he gave her earlier; a change of topic.

"Do you like coffee?"

"Uh, I actually prefer tea, but I don't mind an occasional cup of brown gold," Jaune replied. He brought his deep-blue gaze to level with the girl across from him, welcoming the chance to switch focus.

"Great. There's a pleasant café nearby called _Schatz Kiste._ They serve the best—"

A reverberating ring of cast metal being struck hard interrupted her sentence.

Surprised, Jaune glanced at Vale's central clock tower which had its hour hand pointed at seven. "Wow, I didn't even hear the six 'o'clock bell during our conversation. Can you believe we've been talking for more than an hour?"

"Talking? I thought you were interrogating me the entire time," Blake dryly said.

Jaune flinched at her sharp tone. "I…did I really come on that strong? Sorry," he bowed low in apology.

The girl let out a melodic chuckle.

Standing straight once again, the blonde sighed. "You're teasing me, aren't you?"

"Possibly," Blake replied humorously.

"You're as playful as a cat," Jaune muttered.

Hearing him, Blake smiled tauntingly. "Tell me, you know I'm a Faunus. Have you guessed what physical characteristics I may have?"

Jaune crossed his arms and stared at the dark-haired girl for a few seconds. He'd actually thought about this the moment she revealed herself. "Let's see, I know it has be ear related, and that your black bow is hiding it..."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Blake asked in surprise, patting the aforementioned cloth to make sure it was still on.

"Your bow twitched like crazy every time a bird flew near us or a vehicle below passesd by. I pretty much assumed your extra pair of ears were being sensitive to the sounds. Anyway, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say you have the ears of a puma."

"Wrong," Blake smirked at his ridiculous answer as she undid her black ribbon, revealing two violet cat ears. "If you had said _feline_, I would have given you some leeway."

Jaune glared at the Faunus girl with great severity. "Blake, given everything we talked about, would you consider me an acquaintance or friend now?"

Blake looked at the serious blonde confusedly, perplexed at his off tangent question and flip-switched personality. "While we've only just met, I would like to think of us as friends. Why?"

"Then please, as my friend, accept the fact that all great men have weaknesses, even I," Jaune said with guilty conviction.

"Where is this coming from? And…what are you doing?"

The blonde knight had his eyes scrunched closed and both hands in front of his face, held together in a praying fashion.

"I'm apologizing in advance to you. The urge. My weakness. It's too hard…to resist."

"Urge? What do—Jaune?!"

The swordsman disappeared in a yellow blur and came up right behind her, hands rising steadily to the top of her head.

"D-don't do it!" she turned back and pleaded.

Jaune's expression was grim as his deep-blue eyes gazed into her desperate amber pools.

"There's no turning back. I have to do this. Jaune Arc NEVER backs down."

He then started rubbing her unveiled Faunus ears without remorse.

"Whoa, these are way softer than I thought they'd be," Jaune said in excitement as he unknowingly stimulated the dark-haired girl who slumped against him at first contact.

Blake's protests caught in her throat as she tried to hold back sensual moans that threatened to come out as purring, triggered by the gentle rubbing ministrations. He was very skilled with his hand movements, expertly touching different parts of her tender ears without twisting or pulling. She wasn't used to the pleasurable attention, and it didn't help that the object of her secret affections was administering it.

This went on for two minutes, until she couldn't stand it anymore.

"J-Jaune, please…I ca-can't—"

"Can't what?"

Her body shivered in tingles as a wave of foreign pleasure coursed through, causing her to lose feeling in her legs.

"Blake?!" Jaune promptly stopped his actions and caught the unresponsive girl in his arms. Looking down, he saw her dreamily grinning with half-lidded eyes and an extremely flushed complexion. He slowly knelt down to the stone surface so he could lay her head on his lap.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to cause...well, whatever just happened."

"That's…that's all right, Jaune. I'm fine. In fact, that felt…amazing. Next time, though, please give me a better warning," Blake breathily said to the worried blonde. She was fortunate there hadn't been any _residual_ effects. "I will need a few minutes to recover," she drawled out with a delicate smile.

"Sure, take all the time you need," Jaune hesitantly grinned back at the dark beauty as she closed her eyes peacefully.

"_Note to self, develop resistance to compulsive urge to touch soft-looking things, especially Faunus ears. Apparently, they're very sensitive,"_ he thought embarrassedly as he looked up at the bright azure sky.

Unbeknownst to him, he was being silently observed by the resting female's slightly open, amber gaze.

"_The future will certainly be entertaining…"_ Blake mused, enjoying the reflection in Jaune's captivating deep-blue eyes.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry, no action, just some dialogue heavy interaction, and not the fluffy kind. I originally had a few more scenes collated into this single chapter, but it was hitting 15k+ words, and I didn't feel comfortable stuffing it all together like that. So, some chronological splitting was done. I also didn't get to refine this into the quality I'm used to giving, but a lot has been going on in real life and I just wanted to get something out there so I could advance the story somewhere else.

Anyway, this entry focused on the background and introduction of a different sort of Blake Belladonna. She's more calculative, chatty, and teasing than the canonical version, but her general reserved nature should stay in existence. Next chapter, I intend to have a small clash of Ice against Fire and finally bring the White Fang business to a close. The slice-of-life backdrop of Beacon Academy nears closer.

PS - Alas, I now must join my girlfriend on the couch to watch an archaic roll of Sailor Moon episodes, something that was enjoyable at first but is now making my eyes bleed out of their orifices. I need to find a way to un-hype her about the planned reboot, and get her to watch a series like Nichijou or Fate/Zero instead. I'll even settle with Iwatobi Swim Club at this point...

I should have stayed in Britain longer, even if it was for work. Back to good ol' Aussie. As always, my friends, please drop a review on my face if possible.

Cheers!


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